CARPENTEI« 
GEOGRAPHICAL  READER 


UC-NRLF 

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B    3    113    fi^M 


-^AFRICA 


a 


CARPENTER'S  GEOGRAPHICAU  READER 


AFRICA 


BY 

FRANK    G.    CARPENTER 


3>a<c 


NEW  YORK  •:•  CINCINNATI  •:•  CHICAGO 

AMERICAN     BOOK    COMPANY 


f/s 


CARPENTER'S 

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— * — 

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. 

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ASIA 

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AFRICA         .... 

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AUSTRALIA  AND  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SEA 

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Series  on  Commerce  anD  UnDustr^ 

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Copyright,  1905,  by 
FRANK  G.   CARPENTER. 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London. 

carp.  africa. 
E.  p.  16 

EDIICm-iOti  fJ^^4 


PREFACE 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  give  a  simple  knowledge 
of  the  peoples  and  countries  of  Africa  as  they  are  to-day. 
It  is  not  intended  as  a  geography,  but  merely  to  supple- 
ment and  enliven  the  study  of  the  geography  text-book 
by  being  read  in  connection  with  it.  The  author  takes 
the  children  on  a  personally  conducted  tour  around  and 
through  the  great  African  continent,  the  journey  being 
one  of  exploration  and  study  as  well  as  of  sight  seeing. 

The  travelers  cross  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  New  York 
to  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  and  spend  some  time  in  the 
lands  along  the  Mediterranean,  visiting  Morocco,  Algeria, 
Tunis,  and  Tripoli.  They  go  by  caravan  into  the  Sahara  or 
Great  Desert,  stopping  in  the  oases  and  learning  about  the 
life  and  trade  of  that  region  ;  and  then  make  their  way  on 
to  Egypt  and  far  up  the  Nile  into  Nubia. 

From  Nubia  they  cross  the  country  to  the  highlands  of 
Abyssinia  and  go  on  down  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  where 
they  take  ship  for  Mombasa  in  British  East  Africa. 

By  means  of  the  railroad,  which  the  English  have  built, 
they  travel  between  Mount  Kenia  and  Kilimanjaro  to 
Lake  Victoria,  and  explore  the  great  Rift  valley,  learning 
about  its  people,  animals,  and  plants. 

Their  next  trip  is  across  the  Sudan  to  Lake  Tchad,  and 
thence  over  Hausa  Land  and  by  the  Upper  Niger  to  Tim- 
buktu, and  on  through  the  French  territories  of  Senegal 

54  3r,23 


6  PREFACE 

to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  from  there  they  visit  the  Spanish 
possessions  farther  north. 

Senegal,  Gambia,  Sierra  Leone,  Liberia,  and  the  countries 
along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  which  form  the  true  home  of 
the  negro,  are  next  seen,  and  then  a  long  journey  is  made 
up  the  Kongo  and  across  country  to  Lake  Tanganyika 
and  German  East  Africa. 

From  Dar-es-Salaam,  the  capital  of  German  East  Africa, 
a  short  visit  is  paid  to  the  Island  of  Zanzibar,  which  is 
under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain,  after  which  the 
Portuguese  possessions  on  the  east  coast  are  visited  and 
their  people  described. 

The  basin  of  the  Zambezi  is  next  taken^  up ;  and  then 
comes  the  new  world  of  British  South  Africa,  with  its 
stock  farms,  gold  fields,  diamond  mines,  and  other  indus- 
tries, showing  how  a  white  civiHzed  people  has  grown  up 
in  the  southern  end  of  the  black  continent. 

After  visiting  Natal,  the  Garden  of  South  Africa,  the 
steamer  takes  the  children  to  Cape  Town,  and  from  there 
on  up  the  western  coast  of  the  continent,  calling  at  the 
ports  of  German  Southwest  Africa  and  Angola,  the  west 
African  Portuguese  possession,  completing  the  tour. 

Much  of  the  book  is  the  result  of  the  personal  observa- 
tions of  the  author,  who  has  traveled  through  some  of  the 
countries  described.  Other  parts  are  based  upon  the  best 
authorities  of  recent  African  exploration,  and  effort  has 
been  made  to  verify  such  information  as  far  as  possible. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

PAGE 

I .   From  New  York  to  Gibraltar ,•        9 

2.    Morocco        ...... 

14 

3.    Through  Interior  Morocco     . 

20 

4.    In  Fez,  the  Capital  of  Morocco 

27 

5.    Algeria.     General  View 

33 

6.    In  Algiers 

40 

7.    The  City  of  Tunis         .... 

47 

8.    The  Sahara  or  Great  Desert 

55 

9.    In  the  Oasis  of  Biskra  . 

59 

10.    A  Caravan  Ride    .... 

65 

1 1 .    Tripoli  and  its  Oases     . 

74 

12.    The  Land  of  the  Nile    . 

81 

13.    Egypt —  A  Trip  through  the  Country 

87 

14.    Alexandria  and  Cairo    , 

•      93 

15.    Ancient  Egypt  —  The  Pyramids  and  th 

eSph 

inx 

103 

16.    A  Trip  through  the  Suez  Canal      . 

.     109 

17.    Nubia 

.     114 

18.    The  Roof  of  Africa  —  Abyssinia  . 

.     122 

19.    Across  East  Africa  by  Rail    . 

.     131 

20.    About  Lake  Victoria      . 

.     138 

21.    In  Uganda    ..... 

.     144 

22.    Elephants  and  Ivory     . 

•     149 

23.    The  Strange  Animals  of  Africa     . 

.     156 

24.    In  the  Sudan          .... 

.    • 

.     162 

25.    About  Kuka  and  Lake  Tchad 

.     166 

26.    In  the  Land  of  the  Hausas    . 

7 

.     174 

-8 


CONTENTS 


Equatorial 


27.  The  Upper  Niger  —  Timbuktu  an4  Jenne 

28.  Tlie  Spanish  Possessions 

29.  The  Home  of  the  Negro        .... 

30.  Senegal,  Gambia,  Sierra  Leone,  and  Liberia  —  The  Kroos 

31.  Lagos  —  A  Visit  to  a  West  African  Factory  . 
22.  The  Yorubans  —  Southern  Nigeria 

33.  The  Home  of  the  Gorilla — Kamerun  and  French 

Africa        ....... 

34.  The  Kongo  and  its  Basin      .... 

35.  Life  upon  the  Kongo     ..... 

36.  Trade  and  Commerce  of  the  Kongo 

37.  hi  the  Great  African  Forest  —  Pygmies 

38.  Through  German  East  Africa  to  the  Indian  Ocean 

39.  Zanzibar        ....... 

40.  With  the  Portuguese  in  Africa 

41.  British  South  Africa 

42.  Rhodesia  —  The  Zambezi —  The  Niagara  of  Africa 

43.  Farming  in  South  Africa       .... 

44.  A  Visit  to  an  Ostrich  Farm   .... 

45.  Kimberley  and  the  Diamond  Alines 

46.  The  Gold  Mines  of  South  Africa  —  Johannesburg 

47.  Natal,  the  Garden  of  South  Africa 

48.  Cape  Colony  ...... 

49.  German  Southwest  Africa      .... 
;o.  Angola  or  Portuguese  W^est  Africa 


PAGE 

181 

190 

191 

200 
207 

212 

218 

222 

241 
246 

2  C2 
260 
264 

^73 
278 
282 
288 
295 

303 
310 
316 
322 
326 


LIST   OF   MAPS 


Africa       .     .     .    Frontispiece 
Northern  Africa     ....       21 
Northeastern  Africa    ...       83 


Suez  Canal   . 
Northwestern  Africa 
Southern  Africa     . 


1 1 1 

163 

223 


AFRICA 


I.    FROM    NEW   YORK   TO   GIBRALTAR 


FOR  the  next  few  months  we  are  to  travel  together  in 
Africa.  We  have  already  started  and  are  now  sitting 
on  the  deck  of  a  great  ocean  steamer  as  it  moves  toward 
the  east.     We  left  our  homes  some  days  ago  and  sailed 


"We  .  .  .  sailed  out  through  the  harbor  of  New  York,   ..." 

out  through  the  harbor  of  New  York,  past  Staten  Island, 
and  on  into  the  Atlantic.  We  said  good-by  to  our  friends 
at  the  wharves,  wiping  the  tears  from  our  eyes  as  we  did 
so,  and  waving  our  handkerchiefs  as  long  as  we  could  see. 

9 


lO    '  '. '    -  V^  i    '  AFRICA 

'\  I  v'TlJe  fiu'st'diaySQr.'f  o,was  spent  in  getting  over  our  seasick- 
ness, and  we  are  now  thoroughly  enjoying  Hfe  on  the 
ocean.  We  have  become  used  to  the  steamer  and  have 
explored  every  part  of  it,  from  the  bridge,  where  the  cap- 
tain stands,  down  to  the  furnaces  near  the  keel,  where,  day 
and  night,  sooty-faced,  brawny-armed  men  are  shoveling  in 
coal.  We  chat  with  the  officers  and  sailors,  run  races 
over  the  deck,  and  play  all  sorts  of  games  such  as  quoits 
and  shovelboard.  Part  of  the  time  we  hang  over  the  rail, 
watching  the  blue  waters  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  churned 
to  white  foam  as  we  plow  our  way  through  them  ;  or 
stand  at  the  prow,  looking  toward  Africa,  which  is  to  be 
our  home  for  months  to  come.  We  spend  hours  upon 
deck  in  steamer  chairs,  studying  books  and  maps  from  the 
ship's  library  to  get  some  idea  of  the  country  and  to  plan 

-    out  our  tour. 

It  is  a  great  undertaking  that  we  have  before  us.  Africa 
is,  with  the  exception  of  Asia,  the  largest  of  the  earth's 
grand  divisions.  It  is  three  times  the  size  of  Europe,  more 
than  half  again  as  large  as  South  America,  nearly  one 
fourth  larger  than  North  America,  and  about  three  times 
^s  large  as  the  United  States,  including  Alaska  and  our 
outlying  islands.  Africa  contains  about  one  fifth  of  all 
the  land  upon  earth. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  the  African  continent  as  it  lies  on 
the  map.  Notice  its  simple  formation.  It  has  but  few 
bays,  no  long  peninsulas,  and  no  arms  of  the  sea  running 
far  into  the  land.  If  we  could  view  it  as  the  sun  sees  it, 
we  should  observe  that  it  consists  of  a  vast  plateau  of 
irregular  shape  with  ranges  of  mountains  about  the  edges. 
This  makes  the  interior  difficult  of  access  from  the  s-ea, 


FROM   NEW  YORK  TO   GIBRALTAR  n 

especially  as  there  is  a  strip  of  lowland  between  the  coast 
and  the  plateau,  which  is  so  malarial  that  those  who  cross 
it  are  sure  to  have  fever. 

Africa  has  mighty  rivers,  but  most  of  them  have  rocky 
cataracts  where  they  break  through  the  mountains  and  are 
hence  unnavigable  by  vessels  from  the  sea.  It  is  partly  on 
this  account  that  the  continent  has  remained  so  long  unex- 
plored by  white  men,  although  it  lies  so  near  Europe. 

Looking  again  at  Africa,  through  the  eye  of  the  sun,  we 
observe  that  it  is  the  hottest  of  the  chief  land  divisions. 
The  Equator  runs  through  its  center,  and  heat  waves  are 
always  dancing  upon  most  parts  of  it.  Moreover,  in  the 
north  is  the  Sahara  (sa-ha'ra),  as  large  as  the  United 
States ;  and  in  the  far  south  is  another  desert,  Kala- 
hari (ka-la-ha're),  not  nearly  so  large  but  almost  as  dry. 
Two  fifths  of  Africa  is  arid  or  covered  with  scrubby 
bushes.  The  remainder  is  high,  grassy  plains  and  dense, 
dark  forests  through  which  we  might  travel  for  miles  and 
miles  without  a  glimpse  of  the  sun.  There  are  also  a  few 
large  tracts  of  cultivated  land. 

Our  journey  will  by  no  means  be  an  easy  one.  Africa 
has  but  few  railroads,  and  our  travels  will  be  chiefly  in 
boats,  on  foot,  on  horseback,  on  camel  back,  and  in  chairs 
and  litters  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men. 

We  have  our  guns  with  us.  Most  of  Africa  is  inhabited 
by  savages,  some  of  whom  are  cannibals  ;  and  its  wilds 
are  the  homes  of  lions,  panthers,  leopards,  and  the  terrible 
gorilla,  a  fierce  ape  as  tall  as  a  man  and  much  stronger. 
It  has  elephants,  giraffes,  antelopes,  buffaloes,  and  os- 
triches ;  its  rivers  are  full  of  crocodiles,  and  the  rhinoceros 
and  hippopotamus  are  found  in  the  woods  and  swamps. 


12  AFRICA     . 

Africa  is  known  as  th-e  Dark  Continent.  It  is  the  land 
of  the  dark-skinned  races,  and  especially  of  the  woolly- 
haired  negro.  In  the  northern  parts,  north  of  the  Sahara, 
the  natives  are  more  hke  Europeans  or  Asiatics.  Many 
of  them  are  Arabs,  the  descendants  of  men  who  conquered 
these  regions  ages  ago ;  they  have  brown  or  sallow  faces, 
straight  noses,  and  features  like  ours. 

South  of  the  Sahara,  where  most  of  the  population  is, 
the  natives  are  nearly  all  negroes.  •  They  are  of  many 
languages  and  many  tribes ;  some  are  tall,  well  formed, 
and  fine  looking,  and  others  pygmies  or  dwarfs ;  some  are 
savage,  and  some  almost  civilized.  In  the  extreme  south 
there  are  many  Europeans,  chiefly  EngHsh  and  Boers. 
All  together  Africa  is  supposed  to  have  two  hundred  mil- 
lion inhabitants ;  but  they  are  very  unevenly  distributed, 
some  tracts  having  no  people  whatever. 

For  ages  this  continent  has  been  in  a  savage  state.  Its 
tribes  have  been  warring  upon,  enslaving,  and  in  some 
cases  eating  one  another ;  and  in  most  parts  of  the  conti- 
nent there  has  been  continual  war.  Within  the  past  few 
years,  however,  the  great  powers  of  Europe  have  taken 
possession  of  Africa,  and  almost  the  whole  continent  is 
now  ruled  by  them.  Each  power  has  an  army  in  its  terri- 
tory to  keep  peace,  and  is  also  developing  the  country  and 
its  trade.  In  many  places  roads  and  railroads  are  building, 
so  that  in  time  it  will  be  possible  to  travel  through  Africa 
almost  as  well  as  at  home. 

At  present  the  British  have  a  vast  amount  of  valuable 
land  in  Africa.  They  control  tracts  larger  than  all  Europe, 
their  colonies  being  scattered  over  the  whole  continent, 
and  especially  throughout  the  southern,  western,  and  cen- 


FROM   NEW  YORK   TO   GIBRALTAR  1 3 

tral  portions.  Egypt  with  the  country  just  south  of  it  is  w 
dependency  of  Great  Britain. 

The  French  rank  next  to  the  British  in  the  importance 
of  their  territories  in  Africa.  They  govern  Algeria,  Tunis, 
most  of  the  western  part  of  the  Sahara,  and  much  of  the 
Sudan  (sob-dan'),  south  of  it.  Most  of  Morocco  is  a  pro- 
tectorate of  France. 

The  Belgian  possessions  lie  along  the  Kongo  in  Central 
Africa,  and  the  Germans  and  Portuguese  have  colonies  on 
the  eastern  and  western  sides  of  the  continent.  The 
Italians  rule  TripoU  (trip'o-li)  and  parts  of  eastern  Africa, 
and  the  Spanish  have  minor  dependencies.  We  shall  learn, 
however,  as  we  travel  over  the  country,  just  what  each 
nation  has,  and  shall  see  that  in  most  places  the  natives 
are  better  off  than  when  they  governed  themselves. 

The  tourist's  life  upon  shipboard  is  a  lazy  one,  and  our 
eyes  leave  our  books  again  and  again  to  look  at  the  waves 
as  they  roll  on  and  on  until  lost  in  the  sky  in  the  distance. 
It  grows  warmer  as  we  steam  eastward.  Now  schools  of 
flying  fish  flash  like  silver  arrows  as  they  dart  from  wave 
to  wave,  now  porpoises  race  along  side  by  side  with  the 
steamer,  rising  and  falHng  as  though  playing  leap  frog,  and 
now  a  huge  whale  spouts  up  a  geyser  of  spray  away  off  at 
the  right  or  left. 

As  we  approach  the  coast  of  southern  Europe,  sea  gulls 
by  the  score  come  out  and  follow  the  ship,  swooping  down 
at  times  for  the  scraps  of  food  thrown  overboard.  We  pass 
through  the  Azores,  a  group  of  fertile  volcanic  islands, 
and  a  little  later  sight  the  red  cliffs  of  Cape  St.  Vincent  on 
the  Portugal  coast.  We  have  our  first  ghmpse  of  the 
African  mountains  as  we  enter  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  and 


AFRICA 


"...  we  come  to  anchor  in  Gibraltar  Bay  ..." 

as  we  come  to  anchor  in  Gibraltar  Bay  under  the  frowning 
guns  of  the  British  fortifications,  Africa  is  in  plain  view 
over  the  way. 


2.     MOROCCO 

BEFORE  we  cross  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  let  us  take  a 
look  at  the  northwestern  part  of  the  African  conti- 
nent. This  region  is  so  different  from  the  others  that  it 
has  its  own  name.  It  is  sometimes  called  Little  Africa, 
and  the  Ai:ab  geographers  knew  it  as  "  The  Western 
Island."  In  many  respects  it  is  like  an  island.  It  is  the 
region  of  the  Atlas  Mountains,  surrounded  on  the  west  and 
north  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Mediterranean,-  and 
on  the  south  and  east  by  that  sea  of  sand,  known  as  the 
Sahara. 


MOROCCO  15 

The  country  inside  these  boundaries  is  of  enormous 
extent.  It  is  longer  than  the  distance  from  New  York  to 
Omaha,  and  its  average  width  is  greater  than  the  distance 
from  Washington  to  New  York.  It  comprises  Morocco, 
Algeria,  and  Tunis,  has  an  area  as  great  as  our  Atlantic 
States,  and  supports  millions  of  people. 

This  Atlas  region  is  wildly  mountainous ;  some  of  its 
peaks  rise  as  high  as  the  highest  of  the  Rockies.  It  has 
skies  as  blue  as  those  of  Colorado,  and  the  face  of  the 
country  resembles  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  Some  of  it 
is  dry  and  barren,  other  parts  are  well  watered  by  nature, 
and  others  have  been  made  fertile  by  irrigation. 

The  country  is  beautiful.  The  'mountains  are  covered 
with  forests ;  the  valleys  produce  the  same  fruits  and 
grains  as  southern  Europe,  and  everywhere  are  great  beds 
of  daisies,  buttercups,  daffodils,  and  irises.  The  climate 
is  excellent  and  suited  to  our  race. 

The  natives  of  this  part  of  Africa  belong  to  the  same 
race  as  we  do.  They  are  chiefly  Berbers  or  Kabyles 
(ka-bels' ),  Caucasian  tribes  which  have  lived  here  for  ages. 
Many  of  them  have  fair  complexions,  rosy  cheeks,  blue 
eyes,  and  light-colored  hair.  Other  natives,  such  as  the 
Moors  or  Arabs,  are  the  descendants  of  the  Mohammedan 
warriors  who  conquered  northern  Africa  centuries  ago,  and 
who  are  still  the  ruling  classes  throughout  the  country. 
They  are  darker  than  the  Berbers,  but  their  features  are 
similar  to  ours.  The  Moors  are  found  mostly  in  the  towns 
and  lowlands.  There  are  Jews  in  the  cities,  and  many 
negroes  who  were  brought  across  the  Sahara  to  be  used 
as  slaves. 

We  shall  learn  more  about  the  people  as  we  travel  among 


i6 


AFRICA 


them.  Our  first  trip  is  to  be  through  Morocco,  just  over 
the  way.  We  take  a  little  steamer  and  within  three  hours 
have  crossed  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  from  Europe  to  Africa, 
and  have  anchored  in  the  port  of  Tangier  (tan-jer').  We 
are  in  a  new  world.     The  bay  where  we  lie  is  surrounded 

by  hills,  at  the  foot  of 
which  is  a  little  white 
city  with  great  white 
walls  about  it.  Those 
towers,  which  rise  here 
and  there  above  the 
rest  of  the  buildings, 
are  the  minarets  of  the 
Mohammedan  churches 
or  mosques,  where  the 
priests  are  calling  the 
people  to  prayers.  That 
tree  which  rises  high 
above  the  flat  roofs  is  a 
date  palm,  and  the  big 
building  at  this  end  is 
the  citadel,  while  farther  over  is  the  kasbah,  or  home  of 
the  governor  of  the  province. 

What  an  odd  city !  Its  square  houses,  with  their  flat 
roofs,  look  like  gigantic  goods  boxes  jumbled  together 
along  narrow  streets  without  regular  order. 

Notice  the  swarthy,  brown-skinned  men  in  turbans  and 
gowns  who  are  coming  on  board.  They  are  hotel  porters. 
You  can  see  their  names  on  their  turbans.  Each  sings 
out  the  virtues  of  his  own  establishment  as  he  seizes  our 
baggage  and  begs  us  to  follow.     We  push  the  crowd  back 


"We  are  in  a  new  world."' 


MOROCCO  1 7 

and  make  our  own  choice,  and  then  go  to  the  shore,  where 
our  baggage  is  examined  by  dark-faced  officers  in  turbans 
and  gowns. 

We  next  take  donkeys  and  ride  to  the  hotel,  passing 
through  the  gate  in  the  wall.  We  go  slowly,  guiding  our 
little  beasts  this  way  and  that  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of 
other  donkeys  loaded  with  goods  or  ridden  by  men.  Now 
a  mule  passes,  and  now  we  are  overshadowed  by  camels 
moving  along.  The  streets  are  narrow,  and  we  are  often 
crowded  close  to  the  wall.  There  are  no  carts,  and  all 
freight  is  carried  on  donkeys  and  camels. 

The  people  are  as  strange  as  the  animals.  The  crowd 
reminds  us  of  a  sheet-and-piliow-case  party  or  a  great 
masquerade.  We  are  jostled  by  dark-faced  Moors  in 
burnouses,  long  cloaks  with  hoods  which  cover  the  head, 
sho\\(ing  only  the  face  and  beard.  Others  have  turbans 
and  white  gowns,  and  some  wear  the  red  fez  caps  of 
Morocco  and  the  black  clothes  of  Europe.  Many  are 
barefooted ;  others  have  slippers  of  bright  yellow  and  red 
with  soles  so  thin  that  they  make  little  noise  on  the  cobble- 
stone roadway. 

See  those  sallow-faced  men  in  caps  and  long  coats 
bound  in  at  the  waist  with  bright-colored  sashes.  They 
are  Jews.  We  shall  meet  thousands  of  them  in  Morocco. 
They  do  most  of  the  banking  and  trading,  and  many  of 
them  are  rich.  They  are  despised  by  the  Moors  and,  in 
some  cities,  live  in  a  quarter  off  by  themselves. 

Look  out  for  that  water  carrier  or  he  will  sprinkle  you 
as  he  goes  by.  I  mean  that  man  with  the  fat,  black  bag 
of  goatskin  on  his  back.  All  the  water  of  Tangier  is 
carried  either  that  way  or  in  jars.      It   comes   from  the 


i8 


AFRICA 


Look  out  for  that  water  carrier 


springs  and  wells;  it 
is  sold  throughout 
the  city,  water  carry- 
ing being  a  regular 
trade. 

What  are  those  odd 
figures  coming  up 
street  ?  They  look 
like  white  bedticks 
tied  in  at  the  top, 
walking  on  feet.  They 
are  Moorish  women 
who,  by  Mohamme- 
dan     custom,      must 


keep  their  faces  hidden  from  all  men  but  their  husbands. 
See  that  girl  at  the  right.  She  has  pulled  her  head  cloth 
to  one  side  and  holds  it  there,  peeping  out  through  the  crack. 

What  is  the  sing- 
ing in  this  side  street 
at  the  left.?  That  is 
a  class  of  Arab  chil- 
dren learning  their 
lessons.  We  follow 
the  sound  and  peep 
in.  A  half-dozen  dark- 
faced  boys  in  caps 
and  gowns  are  sitting 
on  the  floor  of  a  room 
upon  cushions  before 
little  low  desks.  Each 
has  a  book  in  his  hand,         «  Each  has  a  book  in  his  hand 


MOROCCO  19 

and  all  are  singing  out  the  verses  of  the  Koran  or  Moham- 
medan Bible,  which  they  are  trying  to  learn.  The  black- 
bearded  man  in  the  white  turban  is  the  teacher.  He  has 
a  little  rod  to  keep  his  pupils  in  order  and  looks  rather 
fierce.  Those  shoes  near  the  door  belong  to  the  children. 
They  take  off  their  shoes  while  in  school,  although  they 
keep  their  caps  on.  There  are  many  such  schools  in  Mo- 
rocco ;  and  in  Fez,  the  capital,  are  universities  which  are 
noted  all  over  northern  Africa. 

Leaving  the  school,  we  go  on  to  the  hotel,  where  we 
have  dinner  served  much  as  at  home,  save  that  our  waiters 
are  little  Arabs  in  shppers,  wearing  turbans  and  gowns. 
Later  we  visit  the  bazaars  and  then  go  outside  the  walls 
to  the  market,  where  all  sorts  of  goods  are  sold. 

What  a  curious  place !  It  is  like  a  great  gypsy  en- 
campment. There  are  little  tents  scattered  over  the  fields, 
and  amongst  them  are  men,  women,  and  children  sitting 
on  the  ground  or  moving  about,  or  standing  in  groups 
laughing  and  chatting,  buying  and  selling.  Here  two  are 
quarreling,  there  one  is  puUing  a  donkey  away  from 
another,  and  farther  over  are  three  long-gowned  Arabs 
loading  their  camels  for  a  caravan  trip  across  the  desert. 
The  ungainly  beasts  are  down  on  their  knees,  and  they 
groan  and  shed  tears  as  each  new  burden  is  added. 

That  black-faced  Moor,  with  the  crowd  about  him,  is  a 
professional  story-teller,  the  boy  beyond  him  is  peddHng 
lemonade,  and  those  two  well-dressed  men  coming  this 
way  are  merchants  buying  goods  for  shipment  abroad. 
There  are  many  women,  some  with  veils  and  some  with 
bare  faces ;  and  all  together  such  a  variety  of  strange 
sights  that  we  can  not  comprehend  them  all. 

CARP.  AFRICA  —  2 


20  AFRICA 

And  then  the  animals,  and  especially  the  camels  and 
donkeys !  They  are  everywhere.  We  must  look  out  for 
the  camels.  They  are  treacherous  beasts  and  may  bite 
us  as  they  pass.  We  stop  at  the  stand  of  a  fruit  peddler 
and  buy  figs,  oranges,  and  dates.  We  watch  the  men 
selling  wool  and  grain  ;  and  talk  through  our  guides  with 
some  soldiers  who  have  come  in  from  the  country. 

After  this  we  look  up  horses  and  mules  for  our  trip  to 
Fez,  the  northern  capital  of  Morocco,  which  lies  in  the  in- 
terior about  ten  days  from  Tangier.  We  try  horse  after 
horse  to  get  the  best  riding  animals,  and  pick  out  the 
largest  of  the  mules  to  carry  our  baggage. 

3.    THROUGH    INTERIOR    MOROCCO 

WE  have  left  Tangier  and  are  traveling  on  horseback 
through  the  land  of  Morocco.  We  have  an  escort 
of  Moorish  soldiers,  furnished  by  the  Sultan,  to  protect  us 
from  the  wilder  tribes,  and  quite  a  caravan  of  pack  mules 
to  carry  our  baggage,  including  the  tents  in  which  we 
shall  rest  at  noon  and  at  night.  Our  servants  are  dark- 
faced  Arabs  in  burnouses,  and  our  soldiers  carry  long 
guns  and  look  fierce.  The  men  with  the  tents  usually 
start  first,  and  when  we  reach  the  camping  places  the 
tents  are  already  up  and  our  meals  are  prepared.  We 
have  plenty  of  canned  food  with  us,  and  we  buy  fresh 
fruits,  chickens,  eggs,  and  milk  at  the  villages  and  towns 
on  the  way.  Our  animals  are  fastened  at  night  by  tying 
their  fore  feet  together  with  a  long  rope,  which  is  secured 
to  a  peg  driven  into  the  ground.  We  start  early  each  morn- 
ing and  walk,  gallop,  or  trot,  as  we  please,  on  the  way. 


THROUGH    INTERIOR   MOROCCO 


21 


The  trail  changes  from  time  to  time.  Now  we  are  in 
the  mountains  where  the  fierce  Berbers  Hve ;  they  stare 
at  us  and  evidently  despise  us  because  we  are  Christians. 
Now  we  are  on  the  plains  in  the  farm  villages  of  the 
Arabs,  and  now  in  towns  somewhat  like  Tangier,  where 
the  chief  people  are  Moors. 


L|o  SCALE   OF   MILES 


'-   ,^^'~^\^Oul{  of  Cnh,, 

t)—  ■        .      .  /  AVii_',:i_  y'i^'Jtii^  Lebda%^Iizmtah   2-,^  ({'Benghazi 

[M:  -     -.    .  /        -'^    '^   *^    ^-    ''    1    A       V^JoSina 


_^  i      D  0  s  e  r  t     -^^~~--- 
^  'dESERJ.OF]  SAHARA 


Northern  Africa. 

How  delightful  it  is !  The  sky  is  bright  blue,  and  the 
air  from  the  Atlas  Mountains,  whose  highest  peaks  are 
now  covered  with  snow,  is  pure  and  bracing.  There 
are  no  roads  in  Morocco,  only  caravan  tracks  and  bridle 
paths,  and  our  way  is  right  through  the  fields.  Much 
of  the  land  is  rich,  and  we  ride  for  miles  through  crops  of 
green  barley,  wheat,  millet,  and  corn,  now  going  over  a 
plain  spotted  with  daisies,  daffodils,  buttercups,  and  irises, 
and  now  through  valleys  where  there  are  beautiful  ferns 
and  palmetto  trees.  We  see  many  fig  orchards,  surrounded 
by  prickly  pear  hedges,  and  groves  of  dark  green  olive 
trees  loaded  with  fruit.  Farther  up  in  the  mountains  are 
vineyards,  and  lemon  trees  and  orange  trees.     There  are 


22  AFRICA 

also  forests  of  walnut  trees  and  of  the  evergreen  oaks 
whose  bark  is  used  for  corks  throughout  the  world. 

At  times  a  great  stork  flies  over  us,  and  again  a  flock 
of  crows  or  an  eagle.  The  air  is  filled  with  buzzing 
beetles  and  other  insects.  We  catch  butterflies  when  we 
camp,  and  gather  wild  flowers  to  press  and  send  home 
to  our  friends.  Ripe  dates  and  figs  are  brought  us  fresh 
from  the  trees,  and  we  stop  at  an  orange  orchard  and 
pick  some   of  the  fruit. 

At  one  place  we  visit  a  large  fruit  farm  and  see  figs 
prepared  for  export  to  the  United  States  and  Europe. 
When  the  figs  are  dead  ripe,  they  are  gathered  and  laid 
upon  boards  in  the  sun  to  dry.  When  dry  they  are 
pressed  into  shape  one  by  one,  and  then  packed  in  boxes 
or  mats  for  shipment  abroad. 

Morocco  has  many  delicious  figs ;  some  kinds  are  white, 
some  black,  some  purple,  and  others  yellow  or  green. 
The  purple  figs  are  among  the  best,  although  the  yellow 
ones  are  more  beautiful. 

Fig  trees  are  raised  from  seeds.  The  sprouts  are  trans- 
planted in  rows  so  that  they  stand  sixteen  or  more  feet 
apart.  They  begin  to  yield  fruit  at  three  years,  and  some 
varieties  will  produce  two  crops  a  year  for  centuries  Figs 
are  grown  in  different  parts  of  northern  Africa,  in  Spain, 
Portugal,  Greece,  and  other  countries  upon  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  and  also  in  California.  There  are  all  together 
more  than  three  hundred  varieties  of  this  fruit. 

Another  valuable  product  of  Morocco  is  the  olive.  We 
see  olive  orchards  almost  everywhere,  and  watch  the  dark- 
skinned  people  gathering  the  fruit  and  pickling  it  or  press- 
ing it  to  make  olive  oil.     Olives  when  first  picked  look 


THROUGH   INTERIOR   MOROCCO  23 

much  like  blue  or  green  plums.  The  trees  are  set  out 
not  far  apart  and  are  carefully  cultivated.  At  about  the 
eighth  year  after  planting  they  come  into  bearing,  after 
which  they  will  bear  for  a  hundred  years  or  more.  For 
this  reason  it  is  said  that  the  man  who  sets  out  an  olive 
orchard  lays  up  an  inheritance  for  his  children's  children. 
Some  trees  will  yield  forty  gallons,  and   some   even   one 


"We  pass  camels  .  .  .  loaded  with  grass  ..." 

hundred  gallons  of  olives  in  one  year.  The  fruit  for  pic- 
kling is  gathered  comparatively  green  ;  that  for  oil  remains 
on  the  tree  until  dead  ripe.  In  making  oil,  the  olives  are 
spread  on  a  floor  of  glazed  tiles  to  let  the  water  in  them 
run  off.  After  this  they  are  pressed,  yielding  an  oil  which 
is  the  olive  oil  of  commerce. 

.  .  Going  onward  we  see  strange  things  at  every  step.     We 
'/pass  camels  so  loaded  with  grass  that  they  look  like  hay 


24  AFRICA 

Stacks  on  legs.  There  are  many  men  in  turbans  and 
gowns,  and  women  with  covered  faces  like  those  of  Tangier. 
The  people  riding  the  camels  bob  up  and  down  as  the 
huge  beasts  swing  themselves  over  the  roads,  and  those 
upon  donkeys  have  their  bare  feet  almost  touching  the 
ground  as  their  little  beasts  patter  along.  Now  a  turbaned 
Arab  calls  out  to  us,  *'  Aleikoom  salaam,"  which  means 
*'  Peace  be  with  you."  Our  guide  tells  us  how  to  reply, 
and  we  cry  out  as  we  bow,  "  Salaam  aleikoom,"  "  With  you 
be  peace." 

Some  of  the  natives,  however,  are  by  no  means  so 
friendly,  and,  were  it  not  for  our  guard  from  the  Sultan,  we 
might  have  to  fight.  Now  and  then  a  company  of  fierce- 
looking  Arabs  with  long  guns  in  their  hands  dashes  by 
upon  horseback.  They  are  Mohammedans  and  are  un- 
friendly to  Christians. 

We  pass  through  many  villages  of  rude  huts  made  of 
stone,  mud,  or  straw.  Each  house  has  a  wall  or  hedge  of 
cactus  about  it ;  many  have  dogs  which  bark  at  our  horses 
as  we  ride  by.  Some  of  the  villages  are  high  up  on  the 
hills  and  some  are  on  the  plains.  Many  are  partly  com- 
posed of  tents,  and  some  are  all  tents  arranged  in  circles 
or  squares.  The  tents  are  the  homes  of  shepherds  who 
are  pasturing  their  flocks,  moving  on  as  the  grass  fails. 
The  shepherds  wear  hoods  and  long  cloaks.  We  hear 
them  singing  as  they  tend  their  sheep  in  the  fields.  There 
are  goats  everywhere ;  they  are  reared  for  their  wool  and 
skins. 

Now  and  then  we  cross  brooks,  creeks,  or  little  rivers ; 
and  at  such  places  always  find  the  people  using  the  water 
to  irrigate  the  fields.     They  raise  it  to  the  higher  levels 


THROUGH    INTERIOR   MOROCCO 


25 


by  two  wheels  set  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  moving 

in  cogs  and  connected  with  a  third  wheel,  which  has  clay 

jars  tied  to  its  rim.     This  last  wheel  is  so  set  that,  as  it 

turns,  the  jars  dip  into  the  water    and  fill.     As  the   jars 

come     to    the    top 

they   empty  into   a 

trough  which  leads 

out    to    the    fields. 

The   motive   power 

is    usually   a   bhnd- 

folded  ox,  camel,  or 

mule. 

The  farming  of 
Morocco  is  every- 
where rude.  The 
plows  have  but  one 
handle.  They  are 
often  little  more  than 
crooked  sticks  shod 
with  iron,  which 
scratch  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  The 
farmers  are  poor ;  they  are  heavily  taxed,  the  officials  of 
the  Sultan  leaving  them  little  more  than  enough  to  sup- 
port life. 

Going  farther  south  we  cross  the  Sebu  (sa-boo')  River, 
and  a  little  later  find  ourselves  on  the  green  plain  of  Fez. 
We  make  our  way  over  a  country  covered  with  palmetto 
trees  and  coarse  grass,  now  passing  through  beautiful  wild 
flowers  and  rich  crops,  until  at  last,  away  off  in  the  dis- 
tance, we  see  a  white  city.     It  turns  gray  as  we  near  it, 


the  jars  .  .  .  empty  into  a  trough 


26 


AFRICA 


and  we  perceive  a  gray  wall  with  towers  upon  it.  The 
domes  and  minarets  of  mosques  rise  high  above  the  wall, 
and  we  are  told  that  we  are  in  sight  of  Fez,  the  chief 
city  of  Morocco,  and  the  home  of  the  Sultan  for  a  part 
of  each  year.  It  lies  about  one  hundred  miles  back  from 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  in  a  pear-shaped  valley  surrounded  by 
hills  on  which  are  orchards  of  orange,  pomegranate,  olive, 
and  apricot  trees. 


1^ 

*%■, 

■■•* .  p  * 

H 

1 

f^'.ff^ 

-^ 

HF^      w. 

..- 

"...  we  perceive  a  gray  wall  ..." 

We  meet  more  and  more  people  as  we  come  closer. 
There  are  tents  outside  the  walls,  and  caravans  of  camels 
and  donkeys  going  back  and  forth  over  the  road.  Aided  by 
the  escort  of  the  Sultan  we  pass  through  the  crowd  and  enter 
the  gates.     We  are  at  last  in  Fez,  the  capital  of  Morocco. 


IN    FEZ,   THE    CAPITAL   OF    MOROCCO  2/ 


4.    IN    FEZ,   THE   CAPITAL   OF    MOROCCO 

THE  empire  of  Morocco  is  larger  than  any  one  of 
our  States  except  Texas.  It  has  several  million 
inhabitants,  most  of  whom  live  in  villages  and  desert  en- 
campments. There  are  but  few  cities.  The  largest  is 
Fez,  which  is  less  than  Indianapolis  in  size,  and  next  to 
it  is  the  town  of  Morocco,  which  lies  south  of  it.  Mekinez 
(mek'i-nez),  to  the  westward,  is  still  smaller.  After  Meki- 
nez come  the  chief  ports,  scattered  along  the  Atlantic 
coast,  embracing  Tangier,  Casablanca  (ca-sa-blan'ka)  or 
Dar  el  Beida  (ba'da),  Mazagan  (ma-za-gan'),  and  Mogador 
(mog-a-dor'). 

The  port  towns  are  much  like  Tangier.  Each  has  a 
mosque  or  so,  a  collection  of  flat-roofed,  bright-colored  build- 
ings, and  a  market.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  dirty,  and 
thronged  with  dark-skinned  people  in  Moorish  costumes. 

The  trade  to  and  from  the  ports  is  chiefly  by  camels 
or  mules,  which  cross  the  desert  in  great  caravans  to  the 
oases  and  even  to  the  tropical  lands  south  of  the  Sahara, 
known  as  the  Sudan.  Camels  are  the  only  animals  which 
can  travel  long  distances  without  water,  and  they  are  exten- 
sively used  for  such  journeys.  In  the  mountains,  donkeys, 
horses,  and  mules  take  their  places. 

The  chief  goods  brought  into  Morocco  by  sea  are  cottons, 
sugar,  and  tea ;  and  those  sent  away  are  the  skins  of  sheep 
and  goats,  the  hides  of  cattle,  and  also  wool,  wax,  olive  oil, 
almonds,  and  eggs. 

But  suppose  we  begin  our  exploration  of  Fez.  We  have 
hired  a  house  in  the  city  for  our  stay.     We  have  it  all  to 

'/ 


28 


AFRICA 


ourselves  with_the_exception  of  the  turbaned,  long-gowned, 
black-skinned  servants,  who  bring  in  our  meals  and  take 
care  of  our  beds. 

The  house  has  blank  white  walls  facing  the  street. 
Entering,  we  come  into  a  court  paved  with  tiles  and 
lighted   by  a  lantern  of    bright-colored  glass.     The  court 


"The  court  is  surrounded  by  spacious  rooms. 


is  surrounded  by  spacious  rooms,  each  of  which  has  a  low 
ledge  running  about  the  wall,  which  serves  as  sofa  and 
chairs.  We  are  expected  to  sit  cross-legged,  and  do  so 
for  a  time,  but  it  is  tiresome  and  we  soon  hang  our  legs 
down.  In  the  bedrooms  there  are  wider  ledges,  upon 
which  we  sleep  at  night. 

The  house  is  by  no  means  uncomfortable.     The  floors 
are  of  stone  and  are  carpeted  with  beautiful  rugs.     The 


IN   FEZ,  THE   CAPITAL   OF   MOROCCO  29 

high  ceiHngs  make  the  rooms  cool,  and  there  is  a  fretwork 
of  wood  above  each  door  for  air. 

In  the  evening  we  go  upon  the  roof  to  sit  or  walk  about. 
The  roof  is  flat ;  it  has  a  Httle  wall  around  it,  on  which  we 
could  stand  to  get  a  view  of  the  city  were  it  not  impo- 
lite to  do  so.  The  tops  of  Moorish  houses  are  the  evening 
lounging  places  of  the  ladies,  and,  according  to  Moham- 
medan custom,  it  would  not  be  proper  for  us  to  look  at 
them.  We  can  see,  however,  that  all  Fez  is  flat-roofed. 
The  common  buildings  are  uniformly  low,  and  the  few 
which  rise  high  above  the  rest  are  mosques,  which  have 
great  domes  and  minarets  cutting  the  sky. 

Inside  the  walls  of  our  house  is  a  garden,  where  there 
are  palm,  orange,  and  lemon  trees,  tropical  plants,  and 
beautiful  flowers.  It  is  delightful,  and  we  feel  that 
Moorish  Hfe  is  not  so  bad  after  all. 

We  spend  day  after  day  strolling  the  streets.  How 
crowded  they  are  !  The  donkey  riders  and  burden  bearers 
are  always  calling  to  the  others  to  keep  out  of  their 
way.  The  streets  are  so  narrow  that  we  have  to  jump 
from  one  side  to  the  other.  We  are  careful  not  to  offend 
any  one ;  for  Fez  is  a  Mohammedan  city,  and  many  of  its 
people  do  not  like  Christians. 

We  walk  by  the  mosques  without  going  in.  The  Moors 
do  not  welcome  unbelievers  inside  their  churches,  and  we 
are  content  with  what  we  can  see  through  the  doors.  There 
are  many  worshipers ;  some  on  their  knees  and  some  ris- 
ing and  falling  and  bowing  their  heads  to  the  floor,  praying 
in  the  Mohammedan  way. 

Outside  in  the  courts  are  fountains,  where  turbaned, 
long-gowned  men  are  washing  themselves  before  going  in. 


30 


AFRICA 


The  Mohammedan  always  washes  himself  before  he  prays, 
and  if  he  is  out  on  the  desert  where  he  can  not  get  water 
he  rubs  his  hands  and  face  with  sand.  Every  good 
Mohammedan  prays  five  times  a  day.      That  man  away 


praym; 


ih:  I.; 


•nmedan  way. 


/ 


up  there  on  the  gallery  of  the  minaret  is  calling  the  people 
to  prayers.  His  words  are  in  Arabic,  but  the  guide  tells 
us  what  they  mean.  He  is  saying :  "  Come  to  prayer ! 
Come  to  prayer !  Prayer  is  better  than  sleep.  Come  to 
prayer  !  " 

We  visit  the  famous  university  for  which  Fez  is  noted. 
It  has  now  seven  hundred  pupils  and  forty  professors. 
In  addition  the  city  has  fourteen  colleges  and  many  small 
schools.  For  more  than  a  thousand  years  Fez  has  been 
famous  for  its  schools  of  learning.  The  teaching,  however, 
relates  chiefly  to  the  Koran,  the  Mohammedan  Bible, 
leaving  out  almost  everything  we  consider  essential  to  a 
good  education. 

Let   us  go  to  the  bazaars.     The   business  streets   are 


IN   FEZ,  THE   CAPITAL   OF   MOROCCO 


31 


roofed  with  matting  or  grapevines,  and  we  can  stroll  along 
out  of  the  sun.  It  seems  almost  twilight,  although  we 
had  the  glare  of  a  tropical  midday  outside.  The  street  is 
narrow,  and  facing  it  are  boxHke  stores,  most  of  which  are 
little  more  than  holes  in  the  walls.     In  each  box  a  mer- 


"  In  each  box  a  merchant  sits  or  stands 


chant  sits  or  stands,  with  his  goods  piled  around  him  or 
hung  upon  racks  overhead.  Each  man  has  his  own  kind 
of  wares.  Some  are  selling  perfumery,  some  rugs,  some 
spikes,  and  others  the  beautiful  things  in  leather  for  which 
Morocco  is  famous.     There  are  shoe  stores  and  grocery 


32  AFRICA 

Stores,  cook  shops  where  they  are  broking  meat  upon  iron 
skewers  over  basins  of  charcoal,  sweetjneat  shops  where 
candies  and  dried  fruits  are  kept,  and  other  places  where 
we  buy  deliqious  fresh  dates  and  figs. 

We  watch  men  working  at  their  trades  in  the  shops. 
Here  they  are  weaving  silk,  and  there  making  the  red 
Fez  caps,  which  are  worn  in  Morocco  as  well  as  in  Turkey 
and  Egypt.  In  a  side  street  we  see  boys  embroidering  red 
leather  slippers,  and  across  the  w^ay  are  smiths  hammering 
at  jewelry  of  silver  and  gold. 

The  customers  are  equally  strange.  There  are  Berbers 
from  the  mountains  and  fierce  Arabs  who  have  come  from 
the  desert;  there  are  sheeted  Moorish  women  peeping  out 
through  cracks  in  their  cloaks,  and  with  them  jet-black 
negro  slaves  waiting  to  take  home  their  purchases ;  there 
are  sober-faced  boys  and  bearded  men  in  burnouses,  all 
bargaining  to  buy  as  cheaply  as  they  can.  The  prices  are 
not  fi^ced,  and  the  merchant  takes  less  than  the  sum  he 
first  asks. 

During  our  stay  we  see  the  Sultan  as  he  rides  through 
the  city  on  horseback.  He  has  soldiers  with  him  and  goes 
about  in  great  state.  He  is  not  only  Emperor  of  Morocco 
under  the  French  but  is  also  the  head  of  the  Mohammedan 
religion  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

Until  within  a  few  years  the  Sultan  has  had  absolute 
power,  and  has  punished  all  those  wdio  did  not  obey  him 
in  cruel,  barbarous  ways.  He  has  imposed  heavy  taxes. 
He  has  kept  an  army  of  20,000  men,  and  the  money  from 
the  taxes  has  been  spent  upon  the  army  and  court  so  that 
there  has  been  nothing  left  for  improving  the  country. 

Now  all  this  is  changed.     The  French  have  estabhshed 


ALGERIA.     GENERAL  VIEW  33 

a  protectorate  over  most  of  Morocco,  and  while  the  Sultan 
still  rules  he  must  do  so  as  France  di_rects.  The  taxes  will 
now  be  more  just,  and  a  great  part  of  them  will  be  used 
for  railroads,  post  offices,  and  schools,  and  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  resources  of  the  country.  Morocco  has  much 
excellent  soil  for  farming  and  fruit  raising,  and  many  pas- 
tures for  cattle  and  sheep.  It  is  said  to  have  beds  of  iron, 
lead,  copper,  silver,  and  gold.  These  resources  will  be 
developed  and  the  people  will  soon  be  much  better  off. 
There  will  be  courts  everywhere.  The  army,  under  French 
officers,  will  keep  the  wild  tribes  in  order,  and  it  will  be 
safer  for  strangers  to  travel.  .__^ 

5.     ALGERIA.     GENERAL   VIEW 

WE  have  left  Fez  and  ridden  on  our  horses  back  to 
the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  There  we  took  passage  on 
a  ship  and  we  have  come  about  two  hundred  miles  east- 
ward to  Algeria  (al-je'ri-a),  the  great  country  adjoining 
Morocco.  We  are  now  in  the  most  important  of  the 
outlying  possessions  of  France.  Algeria  is  often  called 
African  France,  although  it  is  not  the  only  territory  the 
French  have  on  this  continent.  They  control  Tunis  on 
the  east,  much  of  the  Sahara  on  the  south,  and  parts  of 
the  Sudan  and  the  other  countries  beyond. 

Algeria  is  equal  to  five  States  as  large  as  Pennsylvania, 
and  it  would  cover  the  whole  of  France,  if  it  could  be 
lifted  up  and  spread  over  it.  It  consists  of  the  Tell,  hilly 
lands  along  the   coast,   and  the   rich    plains   and  valleys 


34  AFRICA 

between  them  and  the  Atlas  Mountains ;  of  the  high 
plateaus  and  valleys  of  the  Atlas,  furnishing  excellent 
pasture;  and  of  the  southern  slope  of  the  mountains, 
covered  with  tracts  of  scanty  vegetation  which  fa^de  off 
into  the  sands  of  the  Sahara. 

The  Tell  is  the  best  part  of  Algeria.  It  is  a  land  of 
rich  farms,  gardens,  orchards,  and  vineyards.  It  has  many 
villages  and  it  supports  most  of  the  people. 

The  native  Algerians  are  much  like  the  Moroccans. 
There  are  many  Kabyles,  people  of  the  white  race,  some 
with  rosy  complexions  and  fair  hair;  there  are  many 
brown-skinned  Arabs,  with  black  hair  and  eyes,  fine  teeth, 
and  aquiline  noses  ;  there  are  Moors  and  negroes  and  Jews 
mixed  with  the  others.  The  population  all  told  is  about 
five  millions,  of  whom  all  but  a  few  hundred  thousand  are 
Africans.  The  others  are  Frenchmen,  Spaniards,  Jews, 
and  Italians.  The  Frenchmen  are  by  far  the  most  numer- 
ous of  the  Europeans,  and  they  are  steadily  increasing  in 
number. 

But  how  did  Algeria  become  a  possession  of  France  ? 
The  story  is  somewhat  connected  with  the  history  of  our 
country.  For  more  than  ten  centuries  Algeria,  Tunis,  and 
Tripoli  were  the  homes  of  some  of  the  greatest  robbers  on 
earth.  They  were  ruled  by  the  Barbary  pirates,  Moors 
who  preyed  upon  the  shipping  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
robbing  and  enslaving  their  captives.  They  were  so 
strong  that  other  nations  paid  tribute  to  them  in  order 
that  their  ships  might  not  be  molested.  This  was  at  the 
time  we  began  to  build  up  our  commerce,  and  for  a  while 
we  also  paid  tribute. 

In    1815,  however,  the   United    States    decided   that   it 


ALGERIA.     GENERAL   VIEW 


35 


would  subipit  to  this  imposition  no  longer,  and  Commodore 
Decatur  was  sent  out  with  some  of  our  men-of-war  to 
serve  notice  to  the  Dey  of  Algiers  (al-jerz'),  the  leader  of 
the  pirates,  that  we  would  pay  him  tribute  no  more. 

As  the  Commodore  gave  this  notice  his  guns  were 
pointed  at  the  city  of  Algiers,  and  the  Dey  saw  he  would 
have  trouble  in  enforcing  his  demands.  So  he  suggested 
that  the  tribute  might  be  omitted  if  the  Commodore 
would  storm  the  town,  using  powder  only.  The  Dey 
thought  such  a  pretense  would  give  him  an  excuse  for  not 
enforcing  the  tribute. 

Commodore  Decatur  repUed  that  cannon  balls  always 
went  with  American  powder,  and  that  if  the  Dey  took  the 
one  he  must  take  the  other.  The  result  was  that  all  talk 
of  tribute  was  dropped,  and  the  Americans  sailed  away. 

A  little  later  the  English  refused  to  pay,  and  in  retalia- 
tion for  outrages  they  laid  Algiers  in  ruins.  Then  came 
trouble  with"  France,  and  the  Dey,  while  discussing  affairs 
with  the  French  representative,  grew  angry  and  struck  him 
in  the  face  with  his  fan. 

'  That  blow  cost  him  his  kino^dom.  The  French  at  once 
declaredvvar.  They  sent  an  army  to  Algeria,  defeated  the 
Dey,  and  annexed  the  country  to  France.  This  was  in 
1830,  and  since  then  the  French  have  been  in  possession. 
They  have  made  Algeria  one  of  the  states  or  provinces  of 
their  Republic.  It  sends  its  own  representatives  to  the 
Congress  at  Paris  and  has  a  governor  general  and  other 
French  officials  to  rule  it. 

We  shall  find  Algeria  far  different  from  Morocco. 
There  our  traveling  was  on  bridle  paths  and  caravan 
tracks ;  here  it  will  be  over  roads  and  railroads.     French 


36 


AFRICA 


soldiers  are  everywhere,  and  good  order  prevails  in  both 
town  and  country. 

We  begin  our  travels  in  Oran  (o-ran'),  the  chief  port  of 
western  Algeria.  The  boat  from  Tangier  lands  us  on  a 
long  pier,  and  we  take  carriages  for  a  drive  through  the 
town,  passing  drays  loaded  with  wine,  and  donkey  carts 


"We  begin  our  travels  in  Oran,  ..." 

carrying  all  kinds  of  goods.  In  Morocco  there  were  no 
vehicles  whatever.  Here  we  have  excellent  carriages,  and 
electric  tramways,  and  the  streets  are  wide  and  well  paved. 
We  drive  by  many  fine  buildings  made  of  marble  from 
the  mountains  near  by.  They  are  European  in  style,  con- 
sisting of  four  or  five  stories,  with  shops  on  the  ground 
floors,  and  hotels,  or  apartments,  above.  The  shops  are  like 
those  of  French  cities.     There  are  many  cafes,  facing  the 


/ 


ALGERIA.     GENERAL  VIEW  3/ 

street,  with  tables  outside  them,  about  which  Africans  and 
Europeans  are  chatting  as  they  drink  coffee  and  wine. 

Farther  back  are  white,  boxhke  buildings,  the  homes  of 
Arabs  and  Moors.     There  are  mosques  with  tall  minarets 
and  also   Christian   churches.     In  the  native  quarter  are    n 
bazaars  and  all  the  queer  features  of  Oriental  hfe.  '- 

The  Algerians  are  half  African  and  half  European. 
Here  goes  a  Jew  with  his  cap  and  long  coat  tied  in  at  the 
waist;  there  is  a  Moor  in  turban  and  gown,  and  farther 
up  street  are  Berbers  in  from  the  country  with  fruit  and 
veo:etables  for  sale.  We  see  French  soldiers  'in  Zouave 
uniforms  with  lon^-tas^eled  caps  on  their  heads,  and,  now 
and  then,  a  French  lady,  as  dainty  as  though  she  had 
stepped  from  the  boulevards  of  Paris  into  the  qiieer  streets 
of  this  African  France.  There  are  Moorish  ladies  in  veils 
and  Jewish  girls  without  veils.  There  are  Berber  women  . 
with  arms  and  faces  tattooed,  and  all  together  such  a  strange 
mixture  of  people  that  we  are  at  a  loss  to  class  some  of 
them,  and  often  wonder  just  who  they  are. 

We  spend  a  day  or  so  at  the  hotel,  enjoying  the  excellent 
meals,  and  then  take  the  cars  for  the  city  of  Algiers,  the 
capital,  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles  to  the  eastward. 
How  delightful  it  is  !  The  sky  is  bright  blue  and  the  air 
from  the  mountains  is  bracing.  A  great  part  of  our  jour- 
ney is  through  the  rich  lands  of  the  Tell,  by  plantations 
of  tobacco,  wheat,  barley,  and  oats,  and  over  plains  cov- 
ered with  alfa  grass,  which  men  are  cutting  and  baHng 
for  shipment  to  Europe,  where  it  will  be  made  into  paper. 
Here  are  orchards  of  apples,  peaches,  and  pears,  and  there 
ripe  oranges  peep  at  us  through  their  yellow  eyes  out  of  ■ 
the  green.     There  are  trees  loaded  with  dark  purple  figs 

CARP.  AFRICA  —  3 


38  AFRICA 

and  other  trees  full  of  light  yellow  lemons.  There  are 
gnarly  olive  orchards  bearing  fruit  like  green  plums,  and 
vast  vineyards  loaded  with  grapes  used  for  making  wine 
for  export  to  France. 

Now  we  leave  the  plains  for  the  mountains.  We  ride 
for  miles  through  forests  of  cork  oaks,  where  they  are 
cutting  the  bark  and  baling  it  for  export  to  be  made  into 
bottle  stoppers  and  other  such  things.  There  are  sheep, 
goats,  and  camels  feeding  on  the  grass,  watched  by  shep- 
herds, and  now  and  then  a  village  of  tents,  made  of 
black  and  white  cloth,  the  homes  of  these  men  who  move 
about  with  their  flocks  from  pasture  to  pasture. 

There  are  many  villages  in  the  Tell,  including  settle- 
ments inhabited  by  the  French,  and  in  both  mountain  and 
valley  are  the  Httle  towns  of  the  Berbers.  The  Berbers 
are  the  most  industrious  people  of  northern  Africa.  They 
work  for  the  French  on  the  farms  and  in  the  cities.  They 
have  also  many  small  farms  of  their  own,  scattered  about 
the  villages  where  they  live,  their  lands  being  so  carefully 
divided  that  several  famiUes  will  often  own  a  part  of  one 
petty  tract. 

Now  and  then  we  leave  the  train  to  visit  the  villages. 
The  Berbers  are  polite;  they  show  us  their  houses  and 
make  us  at  home.  The  ordinary  house  has  but  one  story, 
and  seldom  more  than  one  room.  In  this  room  the  people 
eat  and  sleep.  Their  bed  is  the  ground,  and  a  sheepskin 
takes  the  place  of  a  mattress.  The  goats  and  sheep  often 
sleep  in  the  house  with  the  family. 

How  dark  it  is  !  The  only  light  comes  through  the 
door,  for  there  are  no  windows.  That  hole  in  the  ground 
filled  with  ashes  is  where  the  cooking  is  done,  and  every- 


ALGERIA.     GENERAL   VIEW 


39 


thing  is  of  the  rudest 
description.  These 
people  have  their  own 
customs.  They  are 
mostly  Mohammed- 
ans, but  a  Berber  sel^ 
dom  has  more  than 
one  wife,  and  the 
women  go  about  with- 
out veils.  Marriaofe 
is  a  business  transac- 
tion, a  man  always 
paying  a  price  for  his 
wife  to  her  parents. 

The  Berbers  are 
among  the  oldest  of 
the  African  peoples; 
they  have  lived  so  long  in  this  part  of  the  world  that  no 
one  knows  just  where  they  came  from.  They  have  fought 
again  and  again  for  their  rights,  having  been  conquered  by 
the  Phoenicians,  Romans,  Vandals,  and  ]\Ioors  before  the 
French  came. 

They  are  now  divided  into  many  tribes,  and  are  still  to 
a^great  extent  their  own  rulers.  Each  village  is  a  little 
republic,  governed  by  its  head  men,  who  make  the  laws 
and  appoint  officers  to  carry  them  out.  The  people  are 
proud  of  their  tribes,  and  the  man  who  brings  disgrace  on 
his  tribe  must  leave  it  and  his  house  is  torn  down.  They 
are  prospering  under  the  protection  of  the  French.  Their 
children  attend  the  French  schools,  and  they  are  advancing 
in  civilization  and  wealth. 


Berber  woman  and  child. 


40 


AFRICA 


6.    IN    ALGIERS 

WE  begin  our  travels  this  morning  with  a  walk  through 
Algiers,  the  capital  of  African  France.  We  are  in 
one  of  the  largest  cities  on  the  African  coast;  it  is  an  impor- 
tant port  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.     Our  hotel  is  on  a 


"Our  hotel  is  on  a  broad  boulevard  ..." 

broad  boulevard  facing  the  harbor.  There  are  large  build- 
ings all  about  us  containing  fine  stores,  restaurants,  and 
cafes  on  the  ground  floor,  with  offices  and  dweUings  above. 
Those  huge  structures  nearer  the  water  are  warehouses. 

The  harbor  is  full  of  vessels.  The  boats  lie  inside  two 
walls  of  stone,  which  inclose  several  hundred  acres  of 
water,  so  deep  that  the  largest  ocean  steamers  can  come 


IN   ALGIERS  41 

in  without  danger.  The  ships  are  from  all  parts  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  from  the  European  ports  on  the  At- 
lantic, and  even  from  China  and  Japan  by  way  of  the 
Suez  Canal.  There  are  more  French  ships  than  any 
other,  for  the  chief  trade  of  Algeria  is  with  the  mother 
country.  Notice  the  steamer  now  coming  in,  the  black 
smoke  rolling  in  volumes  out  of  its  funnel.  That  is  the 
regular  boat  from  Marseilles.  It  left  there  twenty-seven 
hours  ago  with  its  load  of  mail,  passengers,  and  freight. 
One  of  those  boats  arrives  every  day,  forming  the  chief 
connection  between  France  and  Algeria. 

We  stroll  down  to  the  edge  of  the  harbor  and  watch 
the  loading  and  unloading  of  goods.  There  are  ships  from 
London  taking  off  coal,  and  others  bound  for  that  port 
loading  alfa  grass,  wheat,  cork,  dates,  and  wines.  There 
are  French  steamers  bringing  in  flour,  meat,  and  fruit, 
and  smaller  boats  from  Spain,  Italy,  Greece,  and  other 
countries  about.  There  is  a  sailing  vessel  from  Boston 
with  a  cargo  of  salt  fish,  and  a  steamer  from  Argentina 
with  jerked  meat  to  be  sold  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Tell 
and  the  regions  beyond  it.  We  can  easily  see  that 
Algiers  has  a  large  trade,  and  that  Algeria  is  commer- 
cially important  to  the  markets  of  the  world. 

Turning  our  steps  from  the  harbor,  we  go  on  up  into 
the  city.  The  streets  of  the  lower  part  of  it  are  wide  and 
well  paved.  The  avenues  are  shaded  by  palms,  and  there 
are  statues  here  and  there.  We  pass  the  pubHc  buildings 
and  then  stop  at  the  great  mosque.  It  is  an  enormous 
white  structure,  covering  several  acres,  built  about  a  court 
in  which  there  are  trees  and  a  fountain.  The  turbaned 
priest  on  the  minaret  is  calling  out  the  hour  of  prayer,  and 


42 


AFRICA 


we  take  off  our  shoes  and  walk  in.  There  are  many  Arabs, 
Moors,  and  other  Mohammedans  inside.  Some  are  stand- 
ing, some  kneeUng,  and  some  bowing  their  heads  to  the 
ground  as  they  go  through  their  prayers.  We  notice  that 
their  faces  are  all  turned  the  same  way.     They  are  looking 


"  Some  are  standing,  some  kneeling,  ..." 

toward  the  east,  for  the  Mohammedan  always  prays  with 
his  face  toward  Mecca,  which  is  in  that  direction.  Out- 
side in  the  courtyard  we  see  long-gowned  men  washing 
their  hands  and  feet. 

We  make  our  way  up  the  hill.  Algiers  is  built  in  the 
shape  of  an  amphitheater,  its  streets  rising  terrace  above 
terrace.  The  French  quarter  is  down  nearTFie  harbor. 
The  Arabs,  Moors,  negroes,  and  other  native  Africans  live 
farther  up.  Their  houses  are  flat-roofed,  with  white  walls 
and  with  but  few  windows  facing  the  street.     The  streets 


IN   ALGIERS 


43 


are  narrow.  Some  of  them  are  devoted  to  the  bazaars, 
being  roofed  over  with  matdng  and  walled  with  small 
stores  in  which  men  are  sitting  or  standing,  selling  all 
kinds  of  goods.  The  shops  are  larger  than  in  Fez,  but 
nevertheless  little 
more  than  holes  in 
the  wall,  and  the  cus- 
tomers stand  in  the 
street  as  they  buy. 
Each  brj.nch  of  mer- 
chandise has  its  quar- 
ter. One  bazaar  is 
devoted  to  the  shoe- 
makers. Here  we  see 
sli££ers  and  shoes, 
some  made  of  bright- 
colored  leather  and 
turned  up  at  the  toes. 
Another  street  is 
taken  up  by  the  jew- 
elers, and  in  another  ^  '--  ^"  '^^  ^'^^  '^''^''^'' 
men  are  selling  the  perfumery  of  which  the  Mohammedans 
are  so  fond.  We  buy  some  delicious  attar  of  roses,  a  drop 
of  which  will  perfume  one's  trunk  for  a  month,  and  then  go 
on  to  shops  containing  beautiful  carpets  and  rugs,  stop- 
ping at  a  cafe  to  drink  some  Turkish  coffee,  which  is  as 
sweet  as  molasses  and  almost  as  thick.  •  '^^ 

As  we  sit,  we  watch  the  strange  crowd  passing  by.  We 
are  at  a  corner  where  we  can  observe  the  people  as  they 
go  in  and  out  of  the  bazaars  and  ride  to  and  fro.  The 
crowd  is  typical  of  Algiers,  the  meeting  place  of  Europe 


44  AFRICA 

and  Africa.  There  are  French  soldiers  in  Zouave  uni- 
forms, and  tourists  from  England  and  America  in  white 
suits  and  cork  hats.  There  are  Spaniards,  Italians,  and 
French  of  all  classes.  We  see  Arabs  in  their  long  gowns, 
dark-skinned  Bedouins  (bed'oo-ens)  just  in  from  the  desert, 
fierce-looking  Berbers  from  the  mountains,  and  turbaned 
Moors,  Egyptians,  and  Turks.  Every  one  has  his  own 
dress,  from  that  Greek  sailor  in  petticoats  to  the  negro 
porter  behind  him  wearing  almost  no  clothes  whatever. 
There  are  women  as  well  as  men  :  French  ladies  in  Pari- 
sian costume ;  Jewish  girls  in  long,  straight  gowns  of 
pink,  red,  green,  or  yellow;  Moorish  women  so  veiled  that 
we  can  see  only  their  eyes ;  and  rosy-cheeked  Berber 
maids  with  bare  faces.  There  are  boys  with  shaved  heads 
in  gowns  and  skull  caps,  and  half-naked  babies  carried 
along  in  the  arms  of  their  mothers. 

Leaving  the  cafe,  we  go  into  the  streets  inhabited  by  the 
richer  Algerians.  The  doors  of  some  of  the  houses  are 
open,  and  we  can  look  in.  They  are  built  around  courts, 
in  which  fountains  are  playing,  and  over  which  matting 
is  often  stretched  to  keep  out  the  sun.  The  floors 
of  such  houses  are  marble,  and  the  walls  are  beautifully 
carved.  The  people  often  sit  in  the  court  and  sometimes 
eat  there.  About  the  court  are  the  kitchen,  the  bath,  and 
the  storerooms.  The  usual  sitting  or  sleeping  rooms  are 
upstairs,  and  above  them  are  the  roofs,  where  the  women 
go  on  pleasant  days  to  take  the  air  and  to  gossip  and  chat. 

We  do  not  see  the  Mohammedan  women.  They  have 
their  quarters  apart  from  the  men  of  the  family,  and  it 
would  not  be  thought  polite  for  boys  to  ask  to  go  in. 
This  is  the  case  in  all  Mohammedan  countries,  the  faces 


IN  ALGIERS 


45 


of  the  women  being  seen  only  by  their  fathers  and  brothers 
or  very  near  relatives.  The  women  always  wear  veils  up 
to  their  eyes  when 
out  on  the  streets. 
At  home  they  take 
off  their  veils,  and 
usually  go  about  bare- 
footed or  in  sHppers. 
The  children  of  the 
richer  classes  are  well 
clad.  They  are  bright 
little  ones,  and  seem 
to  have  as  much  fun 
as  we  do. 

Algerian  girls  are 
often  married  at 
twelve  or  thirteen 
years  of  age,  and  at 
twenty  a  woman  is 
thought  to  be  an  old 
maid.  According  to  the  Mohammedan  religion  one  man 
may  have  four  wives,  but  many  of  the  Moors  and  Arabs 
have  but  one  each. 

Leaving  Algiers,  we  go  by  railroad  to  the  city  of  Con- 
stantine  (koN-staN-ten'),  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country, 
traveling  for  miles  through  vineyards,  where  the  Berbers 
are  at  work  picking  grapes  and  making  them  into  the 
wine  for  which  the  country  is  noted.  Much  of  the  way  is 
across  a  plain,  with  ranges  of  mountains  in  view.  We  see 
Arabs  plowing  the  fields,  using  donkeys,  mules,  and  some- 
times oxen  or  camels.     The  plows  are  crooked  sticks  shod 


They 


seem  to  have  as  much  fun 
as  we  do." 


46 


AFRICA 


with  iron,  and  they  appear  small  when  drawn  by  the 
camels.  On  our  way  through  the  mountains  we  look  in 
vain  for  the  Numidian  lions,  which  were  so  famous  in  the 
days  of  old  Rome.  They  were  caught  here  and  carried 
to  Italy  for  the  gladiatorial  shows.  The  lion  has  almost 
disappeared  from  this  part  of  the  world. 

The  country  is  beautiful,  especially  in  the  mountains. 
We  pass  many  natural  wonders,  and  when  we  come  to 
Constantine  itself  we  look  at  it  again  and  again,  for  we 


"  Constantine  stands  upon  a  rocky  plateau  ..." 

have  never  heard  of  a  city  like  this  before.  Constantine 
stands  upon  a  rocky  plateau  at  an  elevation  of  eighteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  The  plateau  is  only  about  two 
miles  in  circumference,  and  it  is  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  a  ravine,  which  is  from  fifteen  feet  to  four  hundred  feet 


THE   CITY   OF  TUNIS  47 

wide  and  in  some  places  six  hundred  feet  deep.  Through 
the  ravine  a  rushing  river  flows,  and  the  rock  itself  upon 
which  Constantine  stands  is  connected  with  the  mainland 
by  a  narrow  isthmus  much  like  the  Natural  Bridge  of 
Virginia.  Iron  bridges  have  also  been  built  across  the 
ravine,  and  we  ride  over  one  of  them  into  the  city. 
More  than  fifty  thousand  people  live  upon  this  rock  and 
do  business  here. 

Constantine  is  the  commercial  center  of  eastern  Algeria, 
although  it  is  about  fifty  miles  south  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  It  is  noted  for  its  embroideries  in  leather,  its  shoes, 
saddles,  and  harness,  and  also  for  its  haiks  and  burnouses, 
of  which  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  are  made  every 
year.  The  city  has  its  French  and  native  quarters.  It 
has  a  strong  garrison,  for  it  is  a  natural  fortification,  and 
there  are  many  soldiers  marching  about. 

We  call  upon  the  governor,  visit  the  great  mosque,  and 
spend  some  time  in  the  bazaars  buying  curios  to  send 
to  our  friends.  We  notice  that  good  order  is  everywhere 
kept,  and  that  the  people  seem  pleased  with  the  excellent 
condition  of  Algeria  under  the  French. 


3>»iC 


7.     THE    CITY    OF   TUNIS 

WE  have  come  by  railroad  from  Constantine  to  the 
city  of  Tunis,  the  capital  of  Tunis,  and  the  largest 
city  in  Africa  with  the  exception  of  Alexandria  and  Cairo. 
Tunis  is  almost  as  large  as  Missouri,  with  a  population 
of  about  two  millions.  It  is  like  parts  of  Algeria,  and  the 
inhabitants  are  not  very  different.     It  is  under  the  pro- 


48 


AFRICA 


tection  of  the  French,  and  we  shall  meet  many  French 
officials  and  soldiers.  The  country  still  has  a  native  ruler 
called  the  Bey ;  but  his  powers  are  few,  and  he  has  to  do 
as  the  French  governor  directs. 

On  our  way  to  the  city  of  Tunis  we  ride  by  rich  pastures, 
upon  which  donkeys,  sheep,  cattle,  and  camels  are  feeding, 

watched  by  men,  women,  and 
children.  We  pass  many  fields 
of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats,  where 
dark-skinned  people  are  culti- 
vating the  crops,  frequently 
seeing  a  great  ungainly  camel 
drawing  a  plow.  Now  we  are 
in  mountains  where  there  are 
forests  of  cork  trees,  and  now  in 
valleys  spotted  with  olive  or- 
chards, fig  trees,  and  groves  of 
date  palms.  When  our  train 
stops  at  a  station,  Arab  women 
bring  fresh  water  and  fruit  to 
the  cars,  and  we  lay  in  a  stock 
of  oranges,  figs,  and  dates  to 
eat  on  the  train.  The  track 
" .  .  .  Arab  women  bring  fresh  winds  its  v/ay  in  and  out  through 
"^^^^^  •  •  • "  the  valley  of  a  small  river,  and 

passing  over  a  wide  plain  spotted  with  brackish  lakes 
brings  to  our  view  the  great,  white,  flat-roofed  city  of 
Tunis. 

Tunis  is  situated  on  an  isthmus  between  two  shallow 
salt  lakes  not  far  from  the  Gulf  of  Tunis.  It  is  connected 
with  the  Gulf  by  a  canal,  so  that  ships  come  right  through 


THE   CITY   OF  TUNIS 


49 


to  the  town.  The  city  proper  is  ahiiost  surrounded  by 
walls,  and  at  its  back  are  hills  covered  with  villas  and 
gardens.  It  has  four  wide  streets,  and  we  drive  in  car- 
riages from  the  railroad  station  to  the  hotel.  There  we 
leave  our  baggage  and  start  out  for  a  donkey  tour  of  ex- 
ploration. Each  of  us  has  an  Arab  boy  running  behind 
to  urge  on  his  steed, 
and  we  go  on  the 
gallop  from  one  part 
of  the  place  to  an- 
other. 

Tunis  has  over 
two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  people, 
made  up  of  Moors, 
Arabs,  Turks,  Egyp- 
tians, negroes,  Jews, 
and  people  from  Eu- 
rope and  the  islands 
of  the  Mediterranean. 
We  make  our  way 
through  the  French 
quarter,  which  is  Hke 
similar  parts  of  the 
Algerian  cities,  and  then  direct  our  donkey  boys  to  take  us 
through  the  Maltese,  Jewish,  and  Arab  quarters,  and  then 
on  into  the  bazaars. 

How  interesting  it  is  !  We  are  riding  in  and  out  of 
a  throng  of  people  as  curiously  clad  as  in  a  great  mas- 
querade. Notice  that  strange  creature  dressed  all  in 
white  with  a  black  veil  hiding^  almost  the  whole  front  of 


A  street  in  Tunis. 


so 


AFRICA 


her  person.      Now  she  holds  up  the  veil  with  both  hands 
and  peeps  out  below  it,  making  her  way  through  the  streets 

without  her  face  being  seen. 
She  is  a  Mohammedan  and 
therefore  hides  her  face  from 
all  men  but  her  husband.  The 
fat  woman  a  little  farther  on  in 
jacket  and  trousers  with  no  veil 
at  all  is  a  Jewess.  She  is  the 
wife  of  a  rich  merchant,  and 
her  excessive  plumpness  is 
counted  a  sign  of  beauty  and 
wealth.  The  man  behind  her 
with  the  heavy  black  rope  tied 
around  his  head  is  an  Arab,  and 
the  hooded  man  with  him  is  a 
Moor. 

See  how  that  gray-bearded  Turk  in  the  black  gown, 
green  turban,  and  red  sHppers  is  scowHng  at  us.  He  is  a 
Mohammedan  sheik,  and  he  does  not  like  Christians. 
Green  was  the  favorite  color  of  the  prophet  Mohammed, 
and  the  sheik  has  the  right  to  wear  that  turban  because  he 
has  been  to  Mecca,  where  Mohammed  was  born. 

There  are  many  Berbers ;  that  tall  gaunt  Arab  has  just 
come  in  from  the  desert,  and  those  two  jet-black  negroes 
were  probably  brought  across  the  Sahara  in  caravans  and 
sold  in  Tunis  as  slaves.  There  are  also  olive-skinned 
ItaHans  and  Greeks  and  rosy-cheeked  people  from  Malta, 
a  little  island  in  the  Mediterranean  not  far  away. 

The  streets  are  narrow,  and  we  are  often  crowded  close 
to  the  walls.     Now  it  is  by  a  camel  with  a  great  load  of 


Now  she  holds  up  the 
veil  ..." 


THE  CITY   OF  TUNIS 


51 


wood  and  now  by  a  donkey  carrying  fruit  or  dirty  pig- 
skins filled  with  oil.  We  are  jostled  by  the  mules  of  rich 
Arabs  in  turbans  and  gowns,  and  we  have  to  look  out  for 
the  blind  men  who  pick  their  way  with  their  staffs.  In 
all  parts  of  northern  Africa  there  are  many  blind  people. 
The  sun  is  so  dazzling  that  it  hurts  the  eyes,  and  flies 
and  other  insects  cUng  to  the  eyelids,  sometimes  causing 
the  loss  of  sight. 

Now  we  stop  at  the  stand  of  an  Arab  who  sells  sweet- 
meats and  candy,  and  now  at  a  booth  where  a  long- 
gowned  man  is  frying  meat  and  selUng  it  hot  from  the 
fire.  Here  a  letter 
writer  is  working 
away;  beside  him  is 
a  Jew  money  changer, 
and  farther  on  are 
several  fruit  peddlers 
with  fresh  dates,  or- 
anges, and  figs. 

We  are  now  in  the 
bazaars,  where  the 
narrow  streets  are 
covered  with  matting 
or  boards.  There  is 
no  breeze,  and  the  air 
at  times  is  terribly 
hot.  The  merchants 
have  their  goods  in 
little  cavelike  holes  facing  the  street.  Each  street  has  its 
wares,  some  being  devoted  to  tailors,  others  to  saddlers,  to 
rug  sellers,  and  to  iron  mongers. 


the  narrow  streets  are  covered  with 
matting  or  boards." 


52  AFRICA 

There  is  much  work  going  on.  Here  they  are  weaving 
silk,  wool,  or  cotton;  there  men  and  boys  are  working  in 
brass  ;  and  farther  on  they  are  embroidering  leather.  We 
pause  in  one  bazaar  where  a  woman  is  buying  henna  to 
stain  her  finger  nails  and  toe  nails  red,  for  she  thinks  that 
color  most  beautiful ;  and  at  another  we  watch  the  mer- 
chants dealing  out  perfumes  so  costly  that  they  are  sold 
by  the  drop. 

We  often  stop  to  price  curios  to  take  home  to  our 
friends.  The  turbaned  dealers  ask  us  to  drink  coffee 
with  them,  and  we  sit  cross-Xegged  on  the  floors  of  their 
stores  and  sip  the  rich  brown  liquid  as  we  bargain  to- 
gether. 

One  of  the  merchants  is  very  friendly,  and  at  his  invi- 
tation we  go  with  him  to  his  house.  He  takes  us  in  and 
out  through  the  winding  streets  and  stops  at  last  before  a 
square  white  building  in  which  slits  take  the  place  of 
windows.     The  front  door  is  richly  carved. 

We  first  enter  a  court  surrounded  by  marble  columns, 
behind  which  are  the  rooms  of  the  house.  There  are  soft 
rugs  on  the  floors  and  wide  divans  about  the  walls.  Our 
host  motions  us  to  take  seats  with  him  on  the  divans  in 
Oriental  fashion.  We  do  so,  and  by  and  by  black-skinned, 
white-gowned  servants  bring  in  trays  of  candies  and  sher- 
bet. The  latter  is  a  sirup  which  we  eat  with  a  spoon. 
It  is  almost  as  thick  as  molasses,  and  is  delicious. 

The  little  sons  of  our  host  come  in,  and  he  presents  them 
to  us.  The  boys  cling  to  their  father's  knee  as  they  look 
at  us  with  wondering  eyes.  He  caresses  them,  and  we  see 
that  Mohammedans  are  quite  as  fond  of  their  children  as 
our  parents  are  of  us. 


THE  CITY  OF  TUNIS  53 

At  the  end  of  our  call  we  go  to  the  Jewish  quarter. 
Here  the  men  wear  fez  caps  or  turbans  and  gowns. 
Most  of  them  shave  the  head,  leaving  only  a  tuft  of  hair 
on  the  top.  The  women  wear  trousers  at  home,  and  on 
dress  occasions  some  have  velvet  pantaloons  decorated 
with  silver  or  gold  coins  and  bangles.  A  girl  may  thus 
wear  her  whole  fortune  on  her  clothes.  Is  it  not  strange 
to  see  men  in  gowns  and  women  in  trousers  ? 

On  our  way  back  to  the  hotel  we  visit  some  of  the 
schools  which  have  been  established  by  the  French. 
They  are  to  be  found  throughout  Tunis,  Tunis  has  also 
a  Mohammedan  university  and  Mohammedan  primary 
schools,  where  young  Arabs  and  Moors  study  the  Koran, 
as  well  as  the  French  language  and  other  things. 

We  have  already  learned  that  northern  Africa  has  had 
an  important  part  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Tunis  and 
Algeria  were  once  the  home  of  the  Phoenicians,  one  of  the 
greatest  of  the  ancient  nations,  and  right  here  near  Tunis 
was  Carthage,  their  most  famous  city.  Carthage  was  so 
large  that  the  wall  around  it  was  twenty-three  miles  long. 
There  were  towers  in  the  wall  and  casements,  in  which 
were  stabled  three  hundred  elephants  and  four  thou- 
sand horses  for  use  in  war.  The  city  was  situated  on  a 
beautiful  bay  divided  into  two  harbors ;  it  had  docks  for 
several  hundred  merchant  ships,  and  its  vessels  of  war  had 
iron  beaks  which  could  be  driven  into  the  ships  of  the 
enemy. 

For  a  long  time  there  were  wars  between  Carthage  and 
Rome.  The  Romans  found  the  Carthaginians  such  brave 
fighters  that  they  decided  that  there  would  always  be 
trouble  unless  Carthage  was  destroyed.     After  many  de- 

CARP.  AFRICA  —  4 


54  AFRICA 

feats  they  succeeded  in  conquering  the  Carthaginians  and 
burned  their  city.  They  even  plowed  up  the  ground 
upon  which  it  stood  and  made  it  into  pastures,  where  their 
sheep  and  goats  fed,  watched  by  Roman  slaves.  Later 
still  Tunis  and  Algeria  produced  so  much  wheat  that  they 
became  known  as  the  granary  of  Rome. 


"The  vast  buildings  have  all  disappeared." 

This  place,  however,  was  well  fitted  for  a  city,  and  as 
time  went  on  the  Romans  reestabhshed  Carthage  and  it 
again  became  great.  It  was  afterward  torn  to  pieces  by 
the  Vandals,  and  finally  destroyed  by  the  Mohammedans. 

The  site  of  this  ancient  city  is  only  nine  miles  away,  and 
we  drive  out  for  a  look  at  its  ruins.  The  vast  buildings 
have  all  disappeared.  Hardly  one  stone  has  been  left 
upon  another,  except  in  the  old  cisterns  which  supplied  the 


THE    SAHARA   OR   GREAT   DESERT 


55 


city  with  water.  We  find  only  a  few  bits  of  marble  or 
earthenware  among  the  ruins  to  take  home  as  reUcs ;  and 
we  learn  that  the  stones  of  the  ancient  palaces  were  used  to 
build  Tunis,  and  that  for  ages  ships  came  here  from  Italy 
and  other  parts  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  carry  away 
the  marble  columns,  mosaic  floors,  bricks,  and  beautiful 
tiles.  As  we  wander  along  the  shores  of  the  bay,  we  try 
and  picture  to  ourselves  the  boys  and  girls  who  sported 
here  ages  ago,  when  Tunis  belonged  to  one  of  the  world's 
greatest  peoples. 

}i>       8.    THE    SAHARA    OR    GREAT    DESERT 

OUR  journeys  for  the  next  few  weeks  are  to  be  in  the 
desert.  We  have  been  near  it  many  times  since 
we  landed  at  Tangier,  but  we  shall  now  venture  far  out 
into  this  vast  region  of  rock  and  sand. 

With  the  exception  of  the  parts  of  Morocco,  Algeria, 
and  Tunis  which  we  have  explored,  and  the  long,  narrow 
valley  of  the  Nile  farther  eastward,  almost  the  whole  of 
northern  Africa  is  taken  up  by  the  Sahara,  the  longest 
continuous  desert  on  earth.  It  is  one  of  a  series  of  deserts 
which  extends  throughout  Asia  into  Africa,  and  clear 
across  that  continent  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

The  Sahara  is  so  vast  that  if  four  mighty  giants  could 
lift  it  up  at  the  corners  and  drop  it  down  upon  our  country 
it  would  not  only  cover  it,  but  in  places  would  extend  out 
into  Canada  and  the  Mexican  gulf.  From  west  to  east 
its  thirsty  length  is  so  great  that  no  explorer  has  been 
able  to  cross  it  in  that  direction,  and  its  width  from  north 
to   south    is  greater  than  the  distance  from   the  Atlantic 


56  AFRICA 

Ocean  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  On  the  north  it  extends 
in  some  places  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  on  the  south 
it  loses  itself  in  the  Sudan  —  a  wide  belt  of  rich,  well- 
watered  land  which  crosses  Africa,  extending  southward 
to  the  fertile  regions  of  the  river  Kongo.  The  Sudan  has 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass  and  trees ;  it  is  peopled  by 
blacks  of  many  tribes,  who  are  largely  suppUed  with  goods 
carried  across  the  Sahara. 

But  what  kind  of  a  country  is  this  vast  desert  region .'' 
The  word  "  Sahara,"  which  comes  from  the  Arabic,  means 
"uninhabited  wilderness."  This  hardly  describes  the  Sa- 
hara, for  parts  of  it  are  inhabited  ;  these  are  the  oases, 
situated  about  wells  and  springs,  where  the  land,  for  a 
small  space,  blossoms  like  the  rose.  Each  oasis  has  its 
little  settlement,  shaded  by  date  palms  and  other  trees ; 
there  are  so  many  of  them  that  their  people  all  together 
number  hundreds  of  thousands. 

In  general,  however,  the  Sahara  is  a  waste  of  dry  land 
cut  by  dry  mountain  chains,  with  many  valleys  and  dry 
beds  of  rivers  running  this  way  and  that.  Here  it  consists 
of  a  vast  plain  of  sand,  there  the  land  rises  in  a  rocky 
plateau,  and  miles  farther  on  are  bleak  and  bare  moun- 
tains as  ragged  and  stony  as  our  Rockies.  Here  the  sand 
has  blown  and  drifted  into  dunes  or  hills,  much  as  the 
snowdrifts  in  our  Northern  States  ;  and  there  the  plain  is 
covered  with  pebbles  and  bowlders,  smooth  round  stones  of 
many  colors. 

Some  people  look  upon  the  desert  as  all  low,  flat,  and 
sandy.  This  is  not  the  nature  of  much  of  the  Sahara. 
For  the  most  part  it  is  lofty  plateaus,  the  average  height 
of  the  land  being  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  the 


THE   SAHARA   OR   GREAT   DESERT  57 


"...  a  billowy  ocean  of  rock  and  sand  ..." 

Mediterranean  Sea.  The  desert  is  often  called  a  sea  of 
sand ;  we  might  better  describe  it  as  a  billowy  ocean  of 
rock  and  sand  tossed  by  the  storms  of  time  into  all  sorts 
of  shapes. 

If  the  Sahara  were  all  waste,  there  could  be  no  traveling 
through  it.  Here  and  there,  along  the  northern  and  south- 
ern edges,  is  a  scanty  vegetation,  furnishing  pasture  for 
camels  and  sheep  ;  other  regions  are  so  green,  during  parts 
of  the  winter  and  spring,  that  the  wandering  tribes  drive 
their  animals  there  to  feed ;  and  the  oases  are  islands  of 
green  in  this  dry  ocean,  made  fertile  by  the  water  from 
springs,  wells,  underground  streams,  or  hollows  in  the  beds 
of  waddies,  that  is,  rivers  which  are  dry  most  of  the  year. 
In  some  of  the  waddies  are  stunted  trees,  and  on  the  desert 
itself  one  often  finds  ragged  plants  bristling  with  thorns. 


58  AFRICA 

The  oases  have  date  palms,  and  lemon,  orange,  peach, 
apricot,  and  other  fruit  trees ;  they  grow  wheat,  barley, 
vegetables,  and  beautiful  flowers. 

It  is  the  lack  of  moisture  only  that  makes  the  Sahara  a 
desert.  Its  soil  is,  for  the  most  part,  so  rich  that,  where 
watered,  it  produces  as  well  as  our  Western  prairies,  or 
India,  Siam,  Hawaii,  and  the  West  Indies,  which  are  luxu- 
riant, well-watered  lands  in  about  the  same  latitude. 

**But  why  is  this  great  tract  without  water  .-^  "  we  ask. 

The  moisture-laden  winds  from  the  northwest  are 
squeezed  dry  by  the  cold  Atlas  Mountains,  and  those  from 
the  south  and  east  are  already  dry  before  they  reach  the 
Sahara.  In  the  winter  the  winds  blow  from  the  desert 
outward,  while  in  the  summer,  when  they  blow  inward,  the 
sun  acting  upon  the  sand  and  rock  makes  the  air  so  hot 
that  it  evaporates  the  moisture  before  it  can  form  into 
drops  and  fall  as  rain. 

The  result  is  that  the  winds  of  the  desert  are  dry  winds, 
and  the  storms,  which  are  terrible  at  times,  are  sand  storms, 
which  dash  themselves  against  the  rocks  and  scour  them, 
making  more  sand.  The  air  is  hot  in  the  daytime,  but 
cold  at  night.  This  expands  and  contracts  the  rocks  so 
that  they  split,  wear  out,  and  gradually  fall  to  pieces. 
Thus  the  face  of  the  desert  is  constantly  changing.  If  a 
few  showers  of  rain  fall  anywhere,  plants  spring  up,  and 
for  a  time  there  is  a  bed  of  green  dotted  with  flowers.  In 
some  places  water  collects  under  the  sand,  so  that  artesian 
wells  can  be  made  and  irrigated  oases  formed  by  them. 
The  French  have  many  such  wells  in  the  arid  lands  south 
of  Algeria,  and  have  thereby  made  fertile  spots,  upon 
which  groves  of  date  palms  and  other  things  are  growing. 


IN  THE  OASIS   OF  BISKRA  59 

The  land  here  is  so  rich  that  the  Arabs  say,  *'  If  you 
plant  a  stick  in  the  desert  and  water  it,  you  will  soon  have 
a  tree." 

9.    IN   THE   OASIS   OF    BISKRA 

LEAVING  Tunis,  we  return  by  train  to  Constantine 
and  go  southward  through  the  mountains  of  Algeria 
into  the  desert  on  the  railroad  which  the  French  have 
built  to  the  oasis  of  Biskra.  As  we  approach  the  Sahara 
the  country  grows  more  barren  and  the  pasture  more 
scanty.  Now  and  then  we  go  by  a  mean  Arab  village, 
half  tents,  half  hovels,  with  a  flock  of  sheep  or  goats 
grazing  near  it,  watched  by  ragged  men  or  boys.  We  pass 
brackish  lakes  or  salt  marshes,  startling  the  wild  geese  and 
red-legged  flamingoes  feeding  upon  them.  We  shoot  in 
and  out  of  tunnels,  and  go  through  a  wild  gorge  into  an 
oasis  shaded  by  date  palms  of  dark  green.  Farther  on, 
stretching  away  on  both  sides  of  the  track,  we  pass  through 
more  sand  and  rock,  and  finally  dash  into  Biskra,  one  of 
the  most  thriving  oases  of  the  Sahara  and  the  chief  one 
accessible  by  railroad. 

How  delightful  it  is  and  how  curious !  We  are  in  the 
midst  of  the  desert,  in  a  green  valley  so  small  that  we  can 
walk  from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other  in  an  hour  and  across 
it  in  fifteen  minutes  or  less.  All  about  us  is  the  dry,  bar- 
ren sand;  we  see  bare  yellow  mountains  away  off  at  the 
north,  and  an  oasis,  here  and  there,  standing  out  against 
other  parts  of  the  horizon. 

Biskra  itself  is  delightfully  green.  It  has  thousands 
of  date  palms,  with  olive  groves  and  orchards  of  orange, 


6o 


AFRICA 


lemon,  apricot,  and  other  trees  under  them.  In  some 
places  vegetables  are  growing  below  the  fruit  trees,  so  that 
there  are  three  crops,  one  rising  above  another,  upon  the 
same  ground. 

The  oasis  is  watered  by  springs ;  it  is  divided  into  little 
farms,  each  with  a  mud  wall  about  it,  the  farmers  living  in 


"  Biskra  itself  is  delightfully  green." 

a  village  not  far  away.  Here  and  there  is  a  well,  out  of 
which  the  water  is  raised  by  creaking  wheels,  moved  by 
camels,  and  emptied  into  troughs  which  extend  into  the 
fields.  Each  farmer  has  the  right  to  a  fixed  amount  of  the 
water. 

The  town  of  Biskra,  where  most  of  the  people  live,  is 
surrounded  by  a  wall  and  a  ditch.  It  is  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment of   the  vast   territories   which   the    French   own 


IN   THE   OASIS   OF   BISKRA 


6i 


in  the  Algerian  Sahara,  and  it  has  many  Frenchmen  and 
Italians  mixed  with  its  Arabs,  Bedouins,  and  Moors. 

Biskra  is  more  Hke  the  towns  of  Algeria  and  Tunis  than 
the  other  oases  settlements  we  shall  visit  in  our  caravan 
rides  over  the  desert.  Its  streets  are  wide  and  well  paved ; 
it  has  a  park  where  the  band  plays  every  afternoon,  and  a 
fort  with  French  soldiers.  It  has  French  stores,  as  well 
as  Arab  bazaars  and  also  hotels,  for  many  Europeans 
come  to  Biskra  for  their  health  during  the  winter. 

The  natives  here  in  the  desert  are  even  more  strange 
than  those  of  the  north.  Many  of  them  are  jet-black. 
The  men  are  fierce-looking,  straight,  and  well  formed. 
The  women  are  for 
the  most  part  un- 
veiled. They  dress  in 
gay  colors  and  wear 
great  earrings,  brace- 
lets, and  anklets  of 
gold  and  silver.  Some 
have  just  come  in 
from  the  desert,  and 
we  frequently  meet 
a  woman  riding  a 
camel,  bobbing  up 
and  down  as  she  goes 
through  the  street. 

Biskra  is  an  impor- 
tant   trading    center. 
Caravans   come  here 
from   all   parts  of  the   Sahara,  bringing  dates  and   other 
products  from  the  oases  to  be  shipped  off  to  Europe,  and 


In  the  town  of  Bisl'.ra. 


62  AFRICA 

taking  back  all  sorts  of  goods  in  exchange.  We  see  long 
lines  of  camels,  loaded  with  dates,  swinging  their  way 
through  the  streets,  and  learn  that  dates  are  one  of  the 
chief  products  of  this  part  of  the  world.  An  oasis  is 
valuable  according  to  the  number  of  date  trees  it  will 
support.  There  are  almost  two  hundred  thousand  such 
palms  in  Biskra ;  and  so  many  dates  are  brought  in  every 
year  that  if  they  were  evenly  divided,  there  would  be 
enough  to  give  a  big  handful  to  every  boy  and  girl  in 
the  United  States. 

We  stroll  about  the  oasis,  talking  through  our  inter- 
preters with  the  Arab  farmers  and  learning  how  dates 
are  grown.  We  pick  some  from  the  younger  trees  and 
bite  into  them.  The  ripe  dates  are  delicious,  but  the  green 
ones  pucker  our  mouths  like  unripe  persimmons. 

The  date  palm,  although  it  thrives  on  the  dry  air  of  the 
desert,  must  have  plenty  of  water  about  its  roots  or  it  will 
die.  The  Arabs  call  it  the  queen  of  trees,  and  say  it  must 
have  its  head  in  the  burning  sun  and  its  feet  in  running 
water.  For  this  reason  the  orchards  are  irrigated,  and 
ditches  are  dug  around  the  trees  to  keep  the  roots  moist. 
When  other  crops  are  planted  under  the  palms,  the  whole 
field  is  flooded. 

The  date  tree  is  usually  grown  from  one  of  the  suckers 
which  sprout  from  the  trunks  of  the  older  trees.  The 
suckers  are  taken  off  and  planted.  If  well  watered,  they 
strike  root  at  once,  and  within  four  or  five  years  begin  to 
have  fruit.  They  are  in  full  bearing  at  about  eleven  years, 
after  which  they  will  each  yield  a  hundred  pounds  or  more 
of  dates  a  year  for  about  a  century. 

In  the  Sahara  the  date  palm  begins  to  blossom  in  April, 


IX   THE  OASIS   OF   BISKRA 


63 


great  bunches  of  beautiful  flowers  sprouting  out  of  its  top. 
After  a  time  the  blossoms  fall,  and  the  green  dates  appear. 
As  the  summer  goes  on,  they  change  to  a  reddish  or 
yellowish  color,  and  grow  brighter  and  brighter  until  they 
are  ripe,  when  the 
yellow  dates  are  the 
color  of  amber  and 
the  red  dates  are 
brownish  or  black.  As 
the  fruit  ripens,  the 
flesh,  which  was  un- 
pleasant to  the  taste, 
changes  and  becomes 
so  sweet  that  in  some 
varieties  more  than 
half  of  it  is  pure 
sugar. 

The  dates  shipped 
to  our  country  are 
sweet  dates.  They  are 
allowed  to  dry  on  the 
trees.  They  shrink 
as  they  dry  and  after 
a  week  or  so  are  ready 

to      be      picked      and  "^"^^^^  are  exported  in  bags  ..." 

packed  for  the  market.  Dates  are  exported  in  bags  or 
long  wooden  boxes,  the  choicest  varieties  being  repacked 
before  they  go  to  Europe  or  the  United  States. 

Dates  are  of  as  many  varieties  as  apples.  More  than 
one  hundred  different  kinds  are  grown  in  the  Sahara  ;  some 
are  hard,  some  soft,  some  sweet,  and  others  so  dry  that  one 


64  AFRICA 

can  not  bite  into  them.  Those  exported  to  the  United 
States  are  of  the  soft  variety ;  they  are  so  full  of  juice  that 
it  is  often  drained  off  before  the  fruit  is  packed.  The  date 
juice  forms  a  thick  sirup,  which  is  eaten  as  a  preserve 
under  the  name  of  date  honey. 

Other  dates  do  not  dry  readily,  although  they  contain 
less  sugar  ;  these  might  be  called  table  dates,  as  they  are 
often  eaten  fresh  from  the  trees.  Another  and  very  im- 
portant variety  is  the  dry  date.  This  contains  but  little 
sugar,  and  it  is  not  soft  or  sticky  when  ripe.  It  is  allowed 
to  remain  on  the  tree  until  it  drops,  and  when  stored  away 
in  a  dry  place  can  be  kept  for  years.  Dry  dates  are  al- 
most unknown  outside  the  Sahara,  but  they  form  one  of 
the  chief  foods  of  the  people.  They  might  be  called  the 
bread  of  the  desert.  They  are  eaten  by  man  and  beast, 
being  often  fed  to  camels  and  even  to  dogs. 

We  delight  in  the  ripe  dates  and  find  we  can  eat  great 
quantities  of  them  and  still  long  for  more.  They  are 
grown  in  all  the  oases  and  will  form  a  part  of  our  food  for 
some  time  to  come. 

Going  from  the  little  farms  on  through  the  walls  into  the 
city  of  Biskra,  we  stroll  about,  visiting  the  bazaars  and  the 
markets,  arranging  for  our  caravan  trip  out  into  the  desert. 
There  are  long  lines  of  camels  always  coming  into  Biskra 
from  many  parts  of  the  Sahara,  and  we  have  no  trouble  in 
selecting  a  party  of  well-guarded  Arabs  with  whom  we  can 
travel.  We  are  especially  careful,  in  picking  our  camels, 
to  choose  good  riding  animals.  We  try  the  different  beasts 
again  and  again,  until  we  get  some  which  ride  almost  as 
easily  as  rocking  horses,  and  are  so  fleet  that  they  can,  we 
are  told,  travel  a  hundred  miles  in  one  day. 


A  CARAVAN   RIDE 


65 


10.    A   CARAVAN    RIDE 

WE  have  left  Biskra  and  are  far  out  on  the  desert, 
moving  slowly  along  in  a  great  caravan,  bound 
southward  through  the  central  Sahara.  At  the  front,  on 
fast,  racing  camels,  are  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes  which  make 


"...  moving  slowly  along  in  a  great  caravan,  ..." 

up  the  caravan.  They  have  guns  in  their  hands  and  are 
watching  out  for  the  robber  bands  so  common  throughout 
the  Sahara.  Behind  are  the  freight  camels,  scarred,  dingy, 
and  sullen,  heavily  loaded  with  all  sorts  of  merchandise, 
bound  in  with  ropes.  Long-gowned  Arabs,  so  shrouded 
in    white    or   brown    that   we    can   see    only    their   faces, 


66 


AFRICA 


are  swinging  to  and  fro  on  these  ungainly  beasts.  There 
are  native  women  and  children  in  our  party,  and  among 
them  a  dark-skinned  mother  holding  a  baby.  There  are 
people  walking  as  well  as  riding,  and  a  score  of  dogs  are 
trotting  beside  us. 

.Some  of  the  camels  are  loaded  with  pigskins  of  water, 
and  others  carry  jugs  of  oil,  crates  and  boxes  of  cloth,  and 
great  bundles  of  dates.     We  have  a  goodly  supply  of  food 

on  the  animals  hired 
especially  for  us,  and 
also  some  skin  water 
bottles.  The  water 
keeps  cool,  owing  to 
the  evaporation  of  that 
which  oozes  through 
the  skin,  but  it  tastes 
of  the  bag  and  sick- 
ens us  so  that  it  is 
some  time  before  we 
can  drink  it  without 
making  wry  faces. 

Our  route  through 
the  desert  is  from 
oasis  to  oasis.    There 

Kneeling  camel,  and  owner.  jg    neither     path     nor 

road,  and  our  guides  make  their  way  from  one  watering 
place  to  another  by  the  stars  or  by  rocks,  hills,  or  other 
marks  on  the  landscape,  arranging  the  marches  so  that  we 
have  a  w^ell  or  spring  by  which  to  camp  almost  every 
night.  The  camels  are  made  to  kneel  down  when  we 
stop,  and  their  loads  are  taken  off.     Their  feet  are  care- 


A   CARAVAN    RIDE  6/ 

fully  examined  to  see  if  they  have  been  torn  by  the 
rocks,  and  if  so,  the  skin  is  sewed  together  or  patches 
of  leather  or  rags  are  wrapped  about  them.  They  are 
then  hobbled  by  tying  one  leg  up  at  the  knee,  to  keep 
them  from  running  away.  We  next  pitch  our  tents  and 
smooth  the  soft  sand  out  for  a  bed.  A  fire  is  made  from 
the  wood  we  carry  with  us,  and  we  cook  our  meals  on  the 
coals.  We  arrange  the  camp  so  as  to  be  ready  to  fight  if 
attacked,  and  go  to  bed  with  our  guns  within  reach. 

During  our  travels  it  is  sometimes  terribly  hot.  The 
sun  beats  down  out  of  a  cloudless  sky.  It  strikes  the 
white  sand  and  throws  the  glare  back  into  our  faces.  The 
camels  raise  a  thick  dust,  and  we  wipe  our  blue  spectacles 
again  and  again.  We  fasten  cloths  about  our  heads,  with 
sHts  for  the  eyes  and  nose.  We  laugh  at  one  another,  we 
all  look  so  strange. 

Our  camels  jolt  us,  notwithstanding  they  are  good-riding 
animals.  They  swing  along  with  a  motion  like  that  of  a 
ship  on  the  waves.  We  grow  seasick,  but  this  passes  off, 
as  in  time  does  the  terrible  pain  at  the  waist,  caused  by 
our  bobbing  up  and  down  all  day  long.  We  start  early 
each  morning,  and  at  noon  are  glad  to  stop  under  th^e 
shadow  of  some  precipice  or  rocky  hill  to  rest. 

One  day  our  camping  place  is  surrounded  by  red  sand 
and  on  another  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  tract  of  small 
pebbles  —  red,  brown,  white,  and  black.  They  are  smooth 
and  shiny,  and  we  want  some  to  carry  back  home.  We 
have  taken  off  our  shoes  and  stockings  while  resting,  and 
start  to  walk  over  the  pebbles  in  our  bare  feet.  We  jump 
back  with  cries  of  pain.  The  stones  are  as  hot  as  fire ;,  it 
feels  like  walking  on  coals. 


6S  AFRICA 

Now  we  are  starting  again,  the  freight  camels  grunting 
and  crying  as  they  are  forced  to  get  up  with  their  loads. 
They  growl  as  they  move  onward,  and  are  so  angry  that 
we  fear  to  go  near  them  lest  they  should  bite. 

How  oppressive  the  air  is !  There  is  not  a  breath  stir- 
ring. But  look !  See  that  black  cloud  coming  up  away  off 
at  the  east.  How  fast  it  grows  !  It  has  already  shrouded 
half  of  the  sky.  It  is  bringing  a  wind  with  it  which  throws 
the  sand  into  our  faces.  The  sand  storm  increases.  Some 
of  the  grains  are  as  large  as  peas.  It  is  a  veritable  stone 
hail.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  great  storms  of 
the  desert.  Our  Arab  friends  have  stopped  the  caravan. 
They  have  made  the  camels  kneel  on  the  sand,  and  they 
direct  us  to  lie  down  with  our  faces  to  the  ground  by  the 
side  of  the  camels  and  to  wait  for  the  storm  to  blow  over. 
Now  the  clouds  have  covered  the  heavens.  The  rain  of 
sand  hides  the  sun.  We  dare  not  open  our  eyes.  The 
camels  are  moaning ;  they  have  thrust  their  noses  into  the 
ground,  and  they  blow  out  sand  as  they  breathe. 

See,  it  grows  lighter !  The  storm  is  passing.  It  is  gone, 
and  the  sky  is  again  bright.  We  rise  and  shake  ourselves, 
the  sand  rolling  off  as  though  it  were  snow.  Some  of  the 
grains  have  got  in  at  our  collars,  and,  as  they  move  about 
over  our  bodies,  they  make  us  so  uncomfortable  that  we  sit 
very  uneasily  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  We  are  reminded 
of  the  girl  in  the  fairy  tale  who  felt  a  pea  through  seven 
feather  beds.  In  our  case  the  peas  are  sand  bullets,  and 
they  lie  close  to  the  skin. 

The  Sahara  has  frequent  storms  of  this  kind.  It  has 
some  which  last  for  days,  when  the  air  is  intensely  hot  and 
the  sand  blows  into  every  crack  and  crevice  of  the  homes 


A  CARAVAN    RIDE  69 

on  the  oases  and  almost  buries  the  caravans  moving  over 
the  desert. 

The  best  time  for  traveUng  is  after  the  sun  has  gone 
down  and  the  stars  and  moon  rise.  Then  the  temperature 
rapidly  falls,  and  it  soon  becomes  so  cold  that  we  put  on 
our  overcoats  and  are  glad  to  throw  a  blanket  over  our 
legs.  The  air  is  now  fresh  and  bracing.  It  is  clear,  and 
the  whole  dome  of  the  sky  is  as  visible  as  on  the  sea.  How 
bright  the  stars  shine  and  how  big  the  moon  seems  !  They 
appear  to  be  closer  to  the  earth  than  at  home. 

Our  guides  seem  better  natured  at  night,  and  they  tell  us 
all  sorts  of  stories  of  life  on  the  desert.  They  describe  the 
rich  oasis  of  Tafilet  (taf-i-let')  in  the  western  Sahara,  talk 
about  Tchad  (chad),  the  great  lake  in  the  south,  and  a 
terrible,  stony,  waterless  wilderness  not  far  from  our  route, 
which  it  requires  days  to  cross. 

They  speak  of  the  wonderful  caravans  which  go  from 
Fez  in  Morocco  to  Timbuktu  in  the  Sudan,  saying  that  some 
of  them  have  a  thousand  camels  guarded  by  five  hundred 
men,  and  that  a  caravan  often  carries  a  fortune  in  goods. 
These  caravans  take  all  sorts  of  merchandise  from  Europe 
across  the  desert,  and  bring  back  ivory,  gold  dust,  ostrich 
feathers,  gums,  wax,  and  other  such  things  in  exchange. 

An  important  part  of  the  trade  of  the  western  Sahara  is 
salt,  which  comes  from  the  mines  of  rock  salt  in  that  region. 
The  salt  is  dug  out  in  large  lumps  and  trimmed  into  blocks 
about  a  yard  long  and  half  a  yard  wide,  in  which  shape 
they  can  be  easily  loaded  upon  camels.  The  salt  miners 
live  not  far  from  the  mines.  They  build  their  homes  of 
blocks  of  rock  salt,  roofing  them  with  camel  skins ;  they 
rely  for  their  water  on  an  oasis  some  distance  away. 

CARP.  AFRICA  —  5 


70  AFRICA 

The  Arabs  describe  the  different  caravan  routes  across 
the  Sahara,  showing  us  that  the  best  of  them  are  as  well 
known  as  our  highways  at  home.  These  routes  cross  the 
desert  from  the  ports  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  the 
chief  centers  of  population  in  the  Sudan.  There  are  five 
routes  especially  noted,  and  these  connect  Morocco, 
Algeria,  and  Tripoli  on  the  north  with  Timbuktu,  Sokoto 
(so'ko-to),  Kano  (ka-no'),  and  other  places  on  the  south. 
In  a  trip  like  ours  the  freight  camels  go  no  faster  than  a 
man  can  walk,  and  it  would  take  us  about  three  months 
to  travel  from  one  side  of  the  Sahara  to  the  other.  Now 
the  French  are  planning  to  extend  the  railroad  from  Biskra 
southward  to  the  Sudan,  and  thus  connect  that  vast  coun- 
try with  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

As  we  go  on  we  pass  caravans  loaded  with  dates,  wool, 
and  other  products  on  their  way  north.  Each  is  guarded 
by  Arab  warriors  on  camels,  for  it  is  dangerous  to  travel 
through  the  desert  unarmed. 

From  day  to  day  we  meet  men  of  the  different  peoples 
who  inhabit  the  Sahara.  They  are  divided  into  three 
classes :  tribes  who  live  in  tents  of  camel's-hair  cloth  and 
go  about  from  place  to  place,  driving  their  camels  and 
other  animals  with  them ;  the  Tueregs,  bands  of  warriors, 
who  might  be  called  the  robbers  of  the  Sahara ;  and  those 
who  live  in  the  oases.  The  first  two  classes  are  wanderers; 
the  third,  the  oases  people,  are  farmers,  who  cultivate  all 
sorts  of  vegetables,  tobacco,  cotton,  grain,  and  barley,  as 
well  as  date  palms  and  other  fruits. 

The  natives  of  the  Sahara  are  almost  all  Mohammedans, 
controlled  by  their  sheiks  or  priests.  We  find  mosques  in 
the  larger  oases,  and  observe  that  the  Arabs  of  our  cara- 


A   CARAVAN    RIDE 


71 


'•They  kneel  down  in  the  desert  ..." 

van  say  their  prayers  five  times  a  day.  They  kneel  down 
in  the  desert  with  their  faces  toward  Mecca,  and  pray 
to  God  in  the  name  of  Mohammed. 

As  we  wind  our  way  in  and  out  across  the  sands,  we  see 
a  band  of  Tueregs  now  and  then.  We  treat  them  poHtely, 
and  as  our  force  is  a  large  one  they  do  not  attack  us. 
The  Tueregs  are  supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of 
Berbers  who  in  times  past  were  crowded  out  into  this 
wilderness  from  the  fertile  north  lands,  and  who  now 
make  robbery  and  brigandage  their  trade.  They  are  scat- 
tered throughout  the  Sahara  and  are  noted  for  their 
cruelty,  cunning,  and  quarrelsomeness. 

We  can  easily  distinguish  the  Tueregs  long  before  they 
come  to  us.     We  know  them  by  their  fast-riding  camels, 


72 


AFRICA 


their  odd  costumes,  and  their  weapons.  They  have  swords 
and  lances,  and  such  clothes  that  they  look  more  Hke 
women  than  men.  Every  warrior  has  a  black  veil  over 
his  face  which  hides  all  but  his  fierce,  dark  eyes.  He 
does  not  take  his  veil  off  except  at  night,  and  some  of  the 
chiefs  are    said    to   wear  their  veils    night  and  day.     He 


Tueregs. 

wears  a  red  cloth  cap  with  a  black  tassel,  a  long  white 
shirt  with  a  black  blouse  embroidered  with  gold  or  silver, 
and  wide  Turkish  trousers. 

The  Tueregs  usually  attack  caravans  when  they  are 
camping  about  the  wells,  or  at  an  oasis  when  the  camels 
are  scattered.  They  sometimes  come  in  disguise  and  hire 
out  as  guides,  so  that  they  can  join  in  surprising  the 
caravan  when  their  fellows  come  up. 


A   CARAVAN   RIDE 


73 


They  are  Mohammedans,  but  are  not  strict  in  keeping 
their  religion.  They  seldom  have  more  than  one  wife  each, 
and  the  women  do  not  wear  veils.  Their  chief  wealth  is 
in  camels  and  horses.  They  rear  the  finest  of  animals, 
treating  them  as  children  rather  than  beasts.  The  baby 
camel  is  often  brought  up  with  the  children ;  it  sometimes 
sleeps  in  the  tent,  and  has  a  bite  to  eat  with  the  family. 

Traveling  onward  we  come  upon  an  encampment  of 
Bedouins,  one  of  the  tribes  which  wanders  from  oasis 
to  oasis  with  its  camels,  living  in  tents.  The  women 
grind  some  meal  for  us  and  give  us  cakes  and  bread  and 
couscous,  a  dish  of  millet  and  meat  which  is  one  of  their 
favorite  foods.  They  are  very  polite,  and  we  enjoy  talking 
with  them  through  our  interpreter. 


".  .  .  we  come  upon  an  encampment  of  Bedouins, 


74         .  AFRICA 

At  one  camp  the  chief  asks  us  to  dine  with  him.  The 
cloth  is  laid  on  the  sand,  and  we  sit  down  upon  cushions 
about  it.  Each  of  us  has  a  spoon  and  knife,  but  no  fork. 
We  see  that  our  host  eats  with  his  fingers,  and  we  do 
likewise.  The  food  is  highly  spiced,  and  some  is  so  hot 
with  red  pepper  that  it  brings  tears  to  our  eyes.  The 
chief  dish  is  a  kid  roasted  whole.  It  has  been  cooked  on 
a  pole  running  through  it,  being  thus  held  over  the  fire. 
It  is  brought  to  the  table  with  the  pole  still  inside  it.  We 
each  cut  off  a  slice  and  tear  the  meat  apart  with  our 
fingers.  From  time  to  time,  during  the  meal,  sweets  are 
brought  in ;  and  at  its  close  coffee  is  served  in  little  cups 
not  bigger  than  half  an  eggshell.  The  coffee  is  as  thick 
as  molasses  and  almost  as  sweet. 


aXKc 


II.     TRIPOLI    AND    ITS    OASES 

SO  far  our  travels  have  been  in  the  western  and  central 
Sahara,  which  are  more  or  less  under  the  protection  of 
France.  The  French  claim  all  the  desert  between  their 
possessions  of  Algeria  and  Tunis  and  the  territories  they 
own  in  the  Sudan,  which  take  up  almost  the  whole  western 
part  of  that  country.  Their  desert  lands  are  so  vast  that 
they  can  not  govern  all  of  them ;  so  that  many  of  the 
wandering  tribes  do  about  as  they  please. 

East  of  the  French  possessions  is  Tripoli,  a  country  in- 
habited by  Mohammedans  and  once  owned  by  Turkey.  It 
is  now  ruled  by  the  Italians,  who  took  it  from  the  Turks  in 
191 2.  South  of  Tripoli  is  the  Libyan  Desert,  which  is 
almost  all  rock  and  sand. 


TRIPOLI   AND   ITS  'OASES  75 

We  make  our  way  in  caravans  from  the  Algerian 
Sahara  across  into  TripoH,  stopping  first  at  the  thriving 
oasis  of  Ghadames  (ga-da'mes),  which  Ues  about  three 
hundred  miles  south  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  This 
oasis  has  one  of  the  oldest  towns  of  the  Sahara.  It  was 
well  known  in  Roman  times,  and  it  now  has  several  thou- 
sand inhabitants. 


An  oasis  village. 

Entering  the  wall  of  Ghadames,  we  find  ourselves  in  a 
maze  of  covered  streets,  so  dark  that  they  have  been  com- 
pared to  the  tunnels  of  coal  mines.  In  many  places  the 
houses  are  built  over  the  streets,  the  stores  being  in  the 
tunnels  below..  The  flat  roofs  of  the  houses  are  the  favor- 
ite lounging  places  of  the  people  during  the  evening. 

We  wind  our  way  through  one  narrow  vault  after  an- 


^6  '      AFRICA 

other,  talking  to  the  Arabs,  negroes,  and  Berbers  who  are 
working  or  idling,  or  buying  and  selling  at  the  shops. 
We  go  to  the  gardens  outside,  finding  them  watered  by 
artesian  wells,  and  then  take  a  look  at  the  farms  near  by, 
with  their  beautiful  green  patches  of  wheat,  barley,  and 
millet.  We  enjoy  the  fresh  dates,  figs,  and  apricots,  and 
also  the  camel's  meat  and  camel's  milk  which  are  served 
at  our  meals. 

Ghadames  is  a  caravan  center.  It  is  situated  at  the 
great  crossroads  of  the  desert,  and  has  communication  by 
camel  route  with  the  Sudan,  the  city  of  Tripoli,  and  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Sahara.  We  join  a  caravan  which  is  about 
leaving  for  Fezzan  (fez-zan'),  a  sandy  waste  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Tripoli,  dotted  with  little  oases.  Here  we  travel 
for  days,  now  surrounded  by  monotonous  sand  and  rocks, 
and  now  resting  in  an  oasis  under  the  date  palms,  listening 
to  the  cooing  of  doves  and  the  other  birds  which  live  in  the 
trees.  We  visit  Murzuk  (moor-zook'),  a  town  hundreds  of 
years  older  than  Boston  or  New  York.  It  has  only  seven 
thousand  inhabitants  ;  but  it  is  an  important  place  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  because  it  is  on  the  route  between  the 
Sudan  and  Tripoli,  just  where  caravans  can  stop  for  water. 

Murzuk  is  neither  cheerful  nor  healthful.  A  traveler  who 
once  visited  it  thus  referred  to  it:  **  How  can  one  live  where 
not  a  drop  of  rain  falls,  where  not  a  single  dish  is  to  be 
had,  where  butter  can  no  more  be  procured  than  the  phi- 
losopher's stone,  where  wheat  is  the  diet  of  kings  alone, 
where  the  common  man  lives  on  dates,  and  fever  has  its 
headquarters  ? " 

Murzuk  was  at  one  time  an  important  center  of  the 
slave  trade.    The  slaves  were  brought  from  Central  Africa 


TRIPOLI   AND   ITS   OASES 


71 


by  Arab  caravans,  and  from  Murzuk  they  were   taken  on 

to  Tripoli  for  sale  to  the  Moors.     It  is  said  that  the  route 

from    the    Sudan    to 

Murzuk  may  be  traced 

by  the   bones   of   the 

slaves  who  have  died 

on  the  way. 

Now  we  have  left 
Fezzan,  and  are  trav- 
eling northward  to  the 
city  of  Tripoli.  W^e 
find  frequent  oases ; 
but  along  most  of  the 
way  it  is  so  barren 
that  no  animals  can 
live.  Before  we  came 
into  the  Sahara  we 
feared  that  we  might 
meet  lions,  leopards, 
and  the  other  wild 
beasts  which  are  said 
We  discover  that  this 


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Arabs  of  Tripoli. 


to  infest  this  terrible  wilderness, 
is  a  mistake.  Animals  must  have 
water  and  food,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Sahara  is  so 
arid  that  it  has  no  animal  life  whatever.  The  lion,  although 
called  the  king  of  the  desert,  seldom  ventures  far  out  from 
the  cultivated  and  well-watered  lands.  He  is  found  in  the 
Sudan,  and  now  and  then  in  the  Atlas  Mountains,  but  not 
in  the  desert  itself.  It  is  the  same  with  leopards,  jackals, 
hyenas,  foxes,  and  gazelles.  Along  the  edges  of  the  Sahara 
there  are  ostriches,  and  in  the  oases  are  birds  of  many 
kinds  as  well  as  turkeys  and  chickens. 


78  AFRICA 

Some  of  the  oases  have  donkeys,  horses,  and  cattle. 
The  camel  lives  on  every  green  tract,  and  it  forms  the  chief 
beast  of  burden.  It  is  noted  for  its  hardiness  and  its 
ability  to  travel  a  long  distance  without  water  or  food.  It 
is  the  most  important  of  all  desert  animals,  furnishing 
milk  and  meat,  and  doing  all  sorts  of  work  in  addition  to 
carrying  its  owner  and  his  goods  over  the  sands. 

We  meet  more  and  more  caravans  as  we  approach 
Tripoli.  The  vegetation  increases  in  extent  and  variety ; 
the  plants  which  were  stunted  far  out  in  the  sand  are 
taller  and  more  luxuriant,  and  they  have  fewer  thorns. 

By  and  by,  we  get  out  of  the  desert  into  the  cultivated 
country  which  runs  along  the  coast,  and  stop  at  last  at 
Tripoli,  the  capital.  The  city  has  a  good  harbor.  It 
is  much  like  the  towns  we  saw  in  Algeria.  It  lies 
right  on  the  sea  and  is  made  up  of  square  white  build- 
ings with  flat  roofs,  above  which  the  domes  of  mosques 
are  to  be  seen.  Tripoli  is  surrounded  by  a  huge  wall,  which 
is  guarded  by  soldiers  who  belong  to  the  regiments  en- 
camped at  the  south  of  the  town. 

We  leave  our  caravans  and,  after  engaging  rooms  at  the 
hotel,  take  a  walk  through  the  streets.  We  are  dusty  from 
our  long  ride  over  the  desert  and  decide  to  have  a  bath 
in  Moorish  style.  There  are  many  bathhouses  in  all 
Mohammedan  towns,  and  we  have  little  trouble  in  finding 
one  in  Tripoli.  The  first  room  we  enter  has  couches  scat- 
tered about  it,  upon  each  of  which  a  man  or  boy  is  lying 
wrapped  in  a  white  cloth.  Some  of  the  boys  are  sleeping ; 
others  look  curiously  at  us.  We  are  led  into  a  side  room, 
where  two  negroes  undress  us,  giving  each  a  cotton  towel  to 
wrap  about  him  and  a  pair  of  slippers  to  protect  his  feet. 


TRIPOLI  AND   ITS   OASES 


79 


"Tripoli 


is  made  up  of  square  white  buildings  with  flat  roofs," 


The  negroes  then  take  us  into  another  room,  floored  with 
stone,  which  is  so  filled  with  steam  that  we  can  hardly  see 
one  another.  Our  guides  lead  us  each  to  a  bench  and  tell 
us  to  sit  down.  We  do  so,  but  jump  up  with  a  cry.  The 
bench  is  burning  hot,  made  so  by  the  steam.  We  try  it 
again,  sinking  down  gingerly,  and  after  a  time  find  it  quite 
comfortable. 

As  we  sit  there  our  bodies  grow  hotter  and  hotter,  and 
the  perspiration  oozes  from  us  in  drops.  One  of  the  ser- 
vants brings  us  cold  water  to  drink,  and  then  the  sweat 
runs  off  in  streams. 

Now  our  attendants  take  us  in  hand.  They  make  us  lie 
down  on  the  benches,  giving  us  blocks  of  hot  wood  for 
pillows.  They  then  begin  to  squeeze,  pinch,  and  pound 
us.  They  twist  our  heads  to  loosen  the  muscles  of  the 
neck.     They  pull  our  arms  out  and  jerk  them   this  way 


8o  AFRICA 

and  that.  They  throw  them  across  our  chests  and  pull 
them  back  again.  They  exercise  the  legs,  bending  them 
at  the  knees,  pulling  and  twisting  them.  They  next  knead 
the  whole  front  of  our  bodies,  and  then  roll  us  over  on 
our  stomachs  and  do  the  same  with  our  backs,  continuing 
until  every  muscle  has  been  worked  over  like  dough. 

Next  they  lather  us  with  soap,  scrubbing  the  skin  with 
gloves  of  coarse  camel's  hair,  and  then  take  fresh  tow  and 
scour  it  clean.  We  are  now  washed  down  with  warm  water, 
and,  after  drying,  are  wrapped  in  white  cloths  and  taken 
to  a  couch  in  the  outer  room  to  sleep.  We  fall  at  once 
into  a  doze  and  awake  to  find  that  the  pain  has  gone  from 
our  bodies  and  that  we  are  wonderfully  refreshed.  Some 
excellent  coffee  is  now  brought  in.  We  drink  it  and,  after 
dressing,  depart,  feeling  that  a  Moorish  bath  is  by  no 
means  so  bad  after  all. 

Leaving  the  bath,  we  call  upon  the  governor.  He  is  an 
Italian  appointed  by  the  king,  and  he  tells  us  about  the 
country  which  Italy  owns  here  in  North  Africa.  He 
shows  us  how  it  extends  from  Tunis  to  Egypt,  and  goes 
far  back  into  the  desert.  Tripoli  has  four  zones.  The 
first  is  along  the  sea,  and  it  has  palms,  olive,  lemon,  and 
other  fruit  trees.  The  second  is  highlands  where  are  olive 
groves  and  palms  and  where  grain  can  be  grown.  The 
third  zone  is  the  desert,  with  many  oases,  and  the  fourth 
has  palms,  figs,  vines,  and  almonds. 

Tripoli  is  now  well  governed.  Under  the  Turks  the 
people  were  greatly  oppressed.  The  Italians  are  reducing 
the  taxes.  They  are  deepening  the  harbors  and  improving 
the  cities.  They  are  making  roads,  and  are  helping  the  cara- 
van trade  to  the  oases  and  across  the  desert  to  Central  Africa. 


THE   LAND   OF  THE   NILE 


8i 


Tripoli  has  some  of  the  shortest  caravan  routes  across 
the  desert ;  and  ostrich  feathers,  ivory,  and  other  products 
are  brought  here  from  central  Africa  to  be  transshipped  to 


"Each  of  us  buys  a  small  ostrich  plume  ..." 

Europe.  We  visit  the  dealers  and  see  them  weighing  the 
great  white  tusks  and  the  beautiful  feathers.  Each  of  us 
buys  a  small  ostrich  plume  to  send  home. 


3>©4C 


V 


12.     THE    LAND    OF  THE   NILE 


WE  are  now  to  travel  through  the  strangest  of  all 
countries.  The  world  has  no  other  land  like  Egypt. 
It  is  a  strip  of  rich  soil,  which  has  been  built  up  layer  by 
layer  on  the  dreary  sands  of  the  Sahara  by  the  mighty 
Nile. 


82  AFRICA 

This  river  is  the  longest  in  Africa,  and  with  the 
exception  of  the  Mississippi-Missouri  the  longest  in  the 
world.  It  rises  in  the  highlands  near  the  equator,  having 
its  source  in  Lake  Victoria,  the  largest  lake  in  Africa.  It 
pours  out  of  this  lake  and  races  for  hundreds  of  miles 
through  rapids  and  cataracts,  then  flows  more  slowly  over 


"  It  .  .  .  races  .  .  .  through  rapids  and  cataracts,  .  .  ." 

plains  until  it  reaches  the  Sahara,  through  which  it  winds 
its  way,  spreading  out  into  a  wide  fan  where  it  empties 
into  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

During  its  course,  the  Nile  receives  some  very  large 
tributaries,  and  among  others  the  Blue  Nile  and  the 
Atbara  (at-ba'ra),  sometimes  called  the  Black  Nile  from 
the  color  of  its  waters.  The  Blue  Nile  and  the  Atbara 
rise  in  the  highlands  of  Abyssinia,  which  are  composed  of 


THE   LAND   OF  THE  NILE 


83 


great  beds  of  rich  soil.     When  the  tropical  rains  come  this 
soil  melts  down  into  the  rivers  to  such  an  extent  that  it 


Northeastern  Africa. 


fills  not  only  their  waters,  but  even  the  Nile  itself,  with  rich 
mud.  When  the  Nile  is  high  the  waters  flow  out  over  the 
country,  some  of  the  mud  drops  to  the  bottom,  and  this  in 


84 


AFRICA 


time  has  built  up  the  land  of  Egypt.  The  soil  varies  in 
depth  from  twenty  to  forty  feet,  and  it  has  been  estimated 
that  it  rises  about  six  inches  every  hundred  years. 

The  good  land  extends  just  as  far  out  as  the  water  goes, 
and  no  farther.  Beyond,  all  is  sand  and  barren  rock.  A 
man  can  stand  with  one  foot  entirely  hidden  in  the  richest 
of  crops,  while  the  other  rests  on  the  barren  desert. 


On  the  Nile. 


Along  the  greater  part  of  its  course  the  Nile  runs 
through  a  trough  in  the  desert,  and  there  the  fertile  strip 
is  so  narrow  that  we  could  walk  across  it  in  an  hour; 
while  at  other  places  it  is  so  wide  that  it  would  take  us 
about  half  a  day  to  go  from  one  side  to  the  other.  Until 
it  reaches  the  latitude  of  Cairo,  the  valley  of  Egypt  is  no- 
where more  than  nine  or  ten  miles  wide,  although  it  is 


THE  LAND   OF  THE   NILE  85 

almost  a  thousand  miles  long.  Below  Cairo  it  spreads 
out  like  a  fan,  each  rib  of  which  is  about  one  hundred 
miles  long,  ending  at  the  Mediterranean.  This  fan  is  the 
delta  of  Egypt,  so  named  from  the  fourth  letter  of  the 
Greek  alphabet,  which  has  a  fanlike  shape.  The  deposits 
of  the  Nile  are  such  that  the  delta  grows  about  eight  feet 
farther  out  into  the  Mediterranean  every  year.  It  now 
extends  one  hundred  miles  along  the  seacoast  and  grows 
wider  and  wider. 

The  Egypt  of  the  map  is  about  seven  times  as  large 
as  New  England,  but  it  is  mostly  desert.  The  inhabited 
Egypt,  consisting  of  the  delta  and  the  long,  narrow  valley 
above  it,  is  all  together  not  so  large  as  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  combined ;  but  it  is  so  fertile  that  it 
supports  more  people,  in  proportion  to  its  cultivated  lands, 
than  any  similar  area  on  the  globe.  Much  of  the  country 
produces  crops  all  the  year  round,  and,  where  irrigated, 
two  and  three  harvests  are  annually  gathered  from  the 
same  soil. 

Egypt  has  no  rain,  but  the  Nile  gives  it  water  through- 
out the  year,  and  at  flood  times  furnishes  it  a  meal  of  this 
rich  mud  which  causes  it  to  produce  without  other  fertili- 
zation. When  the  rains  are  light  in  the  mountains  of 
central  Africa,  there  are  no  great  floods.  Then  Egypt 
suffers  from  famine.  For  this  reason  the  people  watch 
the  Nile  carefully.  They  measure  its  rising,  from  day  to 
day,  to  see  if  the  water  will  get  high  enough  to  spread  out 
over  the  country.  There  is  a  column  in  a  well  on  the  island 
of  Rhoda,  in  the  river  at  Cairo,  known  as  "the  Nilometer," 
which  marks  the  flow  of  the  water.  Reports  are  given 
out  from  day  to  day,  and  when  the  right  height  has  been 


86 


AFRICA 


reached  there  is  great  rejoicing  all  over  the  country,  for 
the  people  know  they  will  have  good  crops  and  a  prosper- 
ous year. 

The  Nile  begins  to  swell  about  the  first  of  June.  It 
increases  throughout  the  summer  until  October,  when  it 
reaches  its  hio:hest    level.     The  water  is  now   conducted 


A  Nile  village. 

over  all  the  farms  possible,  and  allowed  to  remain  until 
it  has  saturated  the  soil  and  deposited  its  mud.  About 
the  last  of  October  the  river  falls  and  the  fields  become 
dry. 

In  flood  times  the  Nile  flows  fast,  and  in  the  past  great 
quantities  of  water  and  a  vast  deal  of  this  valuable  mud 
have  been  carried  far  out  into  the  sea  without  being 
spread  over  the  land.     Now  dams  have  been  built  to  hold 


EGYPT  — A  TRIP    THROUGH  THE   COUNTRY  8/ 

back  the  water  and  let  it  out  as  it  is  needed.  Some  of 
these  dams  are  among  the  wonders  of  the  world.  One  at 
Assuan  (as-swan'),  far  above  Cairo,  is  as  high  as  a  seven- 
story  house,  and  so  thick  that  three  carriages  can  be 
driven  abreast  upon  its  top.  It  is  composed  of  huge 
blocks  of  granite,  so  strongly  cemented  together  that  they 
will  hold  back  a  lake  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  long, 
containing  more  than  a  billion  tons  of  water.  The  dam 
is  filled  when  the  muddy  flood  comes  down  from  the 
mountains,  and  opened  again  when  the  Nile  is  low.  As 
the  water  lies  in  the  dam,  the  mud  sinks ;  but  as  the  out- 
lets are  along  the  bottom,  when  the  water  goes  out  it 
carries  the  mud  with  it,  and  thus  distributes  it  through  the 
canals  to  farm  after  farm, 

13.     EGYPT  — A   TRIP   THROUGH   THE 
COUNTRY 

WE  have  landed  at  Alexandria  and  are  making  our 
way  through  the  Nile  valley.  How  dehghtful  it  is 
and  how  refreshing  after  our  long  travels  in  the  thirsty 
Sahara !  The  land  is  alive  with  luxuriant  green,  the  gold 
of  ripening  grain,  and  the  warm,  black  earth  freshly  turned 
by  the  plow. 

The  fields  are  inclosed  by  little  mud  walls,  and  the  crops 
are  spread  out  before  our  eyes  in  a  many  colored  patch- 
work, through  which  run  roads,  paths,  and  silvery  canals. 
That  field  of  snow  in  the  distance  is  Egyptian  cotton,  in 
which  crop  the  country  competes  with  our  Southern 
States;    the  green  expanse  at   the   left   is    clover,  which 

CARP.  AFRICA — 6 


8S 


AFRICA 


grows  here  as  luxuriantly  as  anywhere  in  the  world,  and 
farther  on  are  corn  and  sugar  cane  rising  and  falling 
under  the  wind  from  the  desert.  We  ride  through  pasture 
fields  where  thousands  of  animals,  each  tied  to  a  stake  or 
watched    over   by  a    herdsman,  are    feeding.     There    are 

camels,  donkeys,  and 
water  buffaloes ;  there 
are  flocks  of  fat  sheep 
and  goats,  and  here 
and  there  a  horse  or 
mule. 

How  busy  every 
one  is  !  Little  cara- 
vans are  going  to  and 
fro  over  the  roads. 
Here  comes  a  drove 
of  donkeys,  each  so 
hidden  by  the  bundle 
of  grass  upon  him 
that  we  can  see  only 
his  ears  as  he  moves 
along  without  halter, 

bridle,  or  saddle.     Be- 
Egyptian  peasants.  ^^^^  -^  ^  j-^^  ^f  ^^^. 

els,  each  loaded  wdth  two  bales  slung  from  its  hump,  while 
farther  back  are  other  camels  piled  high  with  grain. 

We  stop  now  and  then  to  talk  with  the  farmers.  They 
are  of  the  peasant  class,  known  as  Fellahs,  forming 
about  two  thirds  of  the  whole  population.  They  are  the 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  mixed  with  the 
various  races  which  have  conquered  the  country.     Many 


EGYPT  — A   TRIP  THROUGH   THE   COUNTRY 


The  houses  are  of  sun-dried  brick 


of  them  own  their  farms,  Httle  patches  often  no  larger  than 
our  village  gardens.  Others  work  as  farm  hands  on  the 
estates  of  rich  landowners,  scattered  over  the  country. 
They  are  generally  poor;  wages  are  low,  and  they  earn 
but  a  few  cents  a  day. 

The  people  live  in  villages  and  go  out  to  their  farms. 
The  cattle  feed  out  of  doors  all  the  year  round,  and  are 
often  taken  into  the  house  with  the  family  at  night. 

The  villages  are  sometimes  shaded  by  date  palms,  but 
often  have  no  trees  whatever.  There  are  no  yards  or 
gardens.  The  houses  are  of  sun-dried  brick  with  roofs  of 
straw  or  palm  leaves.  Most  of  them  are  of  one  story,  and 
few  have  more  than  two  small  rooms.  Near  the  roof  are 
little  square  holes  which  admit  the  air,  serving  as  windows ; 
the  average  roof  is  so  low  that  we  can  reach  it  as  we  sit 
on  our  donkeys. 


90  AFRICA 

The  furniture  of  one  of  these  houses  consists  of  little 
more  than  a  few  mats,  a  copper  kettle,  and  some  earthen- 
ware pots.  The  bed  is  a  ledge,  built  in  the  side  of  the 
room.  Fires  are  not  needed  for  heating,  and  the  cooking 
is  usually  done  out  of  doors  on  little  stoves  of  burnt  clay. 

The  ordinary  food  is  a  coarse  bread  of  corn,  wheat,  or 
millet  made  up  in  round,  flat  cakes.  The  Fellahs  eat  vege- 
tables, eggs,  cheese,  and  dates ;  but  they  seldom  have 
meat.  They  sit  about  on  the  ground  at  their  meals. 
They  have  no  forks,  and  every  one  eats  with  his  fingers. 

The  Egyptians  dress  simply.  A  man  is  well  clad  if 
he  has  a  pair  of  short  trousers  and  a  gown  of  blue  cotton 
with  a  felt  cap  for  his  head.  Sometimes  he  twists  a  scarf 
about  his  cap,  making  it  look  like  a  turban,  and  on  dress 
occasions  he  may  have  a  pair  of  shoes  of  bright-colored 
leather.  The  women  w^ear  blue  cotton  gowns,  much  the 
same  as  the  men,  but  most  of  them  have  cloths  over  their 
heads  and  long,  black  veils  covering  their  faces  so  that 
only  the  eyes  can  be  seen.  They  are  straight  from  the 
custom  of  carrying  things  on  their  heads. 

We  see  many  children  sprawling  about  in  the  dust  near 
the  huts.  Some  are  making  mud  pies  on  the  banks  of  the 
canals,  and  some  herding  the  donkeys  and  sheep,  driving 
the  animals  to  and  from  pasture.  The  smaller  children 
are  half  naked,  and  the  babies  wear  no  clothes  at  all ;  their 
mothers  carry  them  about  astride  their  shoulders,  instead 
of  in  the  arms  as  we  do. 

Now  we  have  left  the  village  and  are  again  in  the  fields. 
Here  two  men  are  hoeing,  there  one  is  plowing  with  a 
camel  and  donkey  hitched  up  together,  and  farther  on  is 
another  driving  two  oxen  in  front  of  a  harrow.     Down  the 


EGYPT  — A  TRIP  THROUGH  THE  COUNTRY 


91 


road  comes  a  boy  on  a  buffalo ;  he  has  neither  bridle  nor 
saddle,  and  sits  woman-fashion.  The  little  fellow  wears 
no  clothes,  and  his  skin  is  tanned  black  by  the  sun.  Buf- 
faloes are  used  here  for  all  sorts  of  farm  work,  and  they 
also  furnish  milk  and 
meat  for  the  Fellahs. 

Notice  the  two 
men  standing  knee- 
deep  in  that  canal 
with  a  basket-work 
bucket  hung  by  a 
rope  between  them. 
They  are  scooping 
the  water  from  the 
canal  into  the  bucket, 
and,  with  a  swinging 
motion,  are  throwing 
it  into  another  canal 
higher  up,  so  that  it 
runs  off  over  the 
fields.  That  is  one 
mode  of  irrigation 
which  prevails  all 
over  Egypt.  Tens  of 
thousands  of  men  and  boys  are  always  lifting  up  water  in 
that  way  from  the  river  or  the  canals  so  that  it  can  be 
spread  over  the  crops.  The  little  mud  walls  about  the 
fields  hold  in  the  water. 

There  are  many  other  methods  of  irrigation,  and  among 
them  the  great  wheel  with  jars  attached  to  its  rim,  such  as 
we  saw  in  Morocco.     The  wheels  move  about  in  the  wells 


*'  Here  two  men  are  hoeing, 


92  AFRICA 

or  canals,  and,  as  they  turn,  raise  the  water  and  pour  it 
into  troughs,  through  which  it  flows  over  the  country.  A 
bUndfolded  donkey  or  buffalo  keeps  the  wheel  moving,  and 
a  boy  or  girl  runs  along  behind  to  whip  the  animal  when- 
ever he  stops.  There  are  more  than  fifty  thousand  such 
wheels  in  lower  Egypt,  requiring  about  twice  that  number 
of  buffaloes  and  donkeys  to  keep  them  in  motion.  Some 
soils  need  only  the  floods  to  make  them  fertile  and  others 
are  irrigated  throughout  the  year. 

The  climate  grows  warmer  as  we  go  up  the  river,  and 
the  difference  affects  the  seasons  of  seedtime  and  harvest. 
As  a  usual  thing  three  crops  are  grown.  The  winter  crop 
is  of  grains  of  all  kinds.  This  is  sown  in  November  and 
harvested  in  May  or  June.  The  summer  crop  is  sown  in 
March,  April,  and  May,  when  the  Nile  is  low,  and  harvested 
in  October  and  November;  it  is  made  up  of  cotton,  sugar, 
and  rice.  The  autumn  crop,  which  is  sown  in  July  and 
gathered  in  September  and  October,  consists  of  rice,  Indian 
corn,  millet,  and  vegetables. 

In  the  delta  vast  quantities  of  cotton  are  produced  as 
well  as  rice,  wheat,  and  Indian  corn.  Cotton  is  the  most 
valuable  crop,  bringing  in  many  millions  of  dollars  a  year. 
The  Egyptian  cotton  has  a  fiber  which  is  very  desirable 
for  certain  kinds  of  cloth,  and  much  of  it  is  imported  by 
our  manufacturers.  Sugar  cane  grows  well  in  Middle  and 
Upper  Egypt,  as  do  also  the  various  grains  and  vegetables. 
The  soil  is  everywhere  fertile,  and,  if  it  has  the  rich  mud 
from  the  Nile,  it  produces  abundantly.  Sometimes  the 
seed  is  scattered  on  the  mud,  after  the  floods,  and  tramped 
in  by  oxen  or  goats.  Most  of  the  year  the  sun  is  so  warm 
that  the  crops  ripen  quickly. 

V  ' 


ALEXANDRIA   AND   CAIRO  ,    93 


14.     ALEXANDRIA   AND    CAIRO 

EGYPT  is  one  of  the  oldest  countries  of  the  world. 
The  Nile  valley  is  so  rich  and  the  river,  running 
through  it  to  the  sea,  so  wide  and  deep  that  its  people 
soon  began  to  trade  with  other  nations.  They  became 
wealthy  and  civilized.  They  had  great  cities  when  Europe 
was  still  inhabited  by  savages,  and  in  early  ages  were  so 
noted  for  their  learning  that  strangers  from  everywhere 
came  here  to  study. 

From  writings  engraved  on  the  old  monuments  we  know 
that  this  valley  had  kings  several  thousand  years  before 
Christ  was  born.  The  Bible  tells  us  how  Jacob  went 
down  into  Egypt,  and  how  his  son  Joseph  became  the 
Prime  Minister  of  Pharaoh,  one  of  the  kings  of  that  time. 
The  Bible  also  describes  how  the  Israelites  were  after- 
ward enslaved  by  the  Egyptians,  and  made  to  toil  under 
taskmasters  until  the  plagues  came  and  the  king  told 
Moses  he  might  lead  his  people  out  of  the  country. 

We  are  now  in  Alexandria,  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea  at 
one  of  the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  just  where  it  is  easiest  to 
ship  goods  from  and  to  all  parts  of  the  valley.  The  city 
was  named  for  Alexander  the  Great,  who  founded  it  about 
332  B.C.  after  he  had  conquered  the  Egyptians.  It  grew 
rapidly  and  became  the  most  magnificent  city  of  its  time. 
Until  the  route  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was  dis- 
covered, it  was  about  the  only  doorway  to  Africa,  and  con- 
sequently a  great  center  of  commerce  and  trade. 

Alexandria  was  long  a  seat  of  learning.  Some  of  the 
most   famous   geographers,  astronomers,  and    mathemati- 


94  AFRICA 

cians  of  antiquity  lived  here,  and  when  Egypt  was  con- 
quered by  the  Arabs  about  641  a.d.  it  had  the  greatest 
library  of  the  world.  The  Arab  general  ordered  that  the 
library  be  destroyed.  He  said  the  Koran  contained  every- 
thing that  a  man  ought  to  know,  and  therefore  other  books 
were  not  needed.  He  gave  the  books  to  the  public  bath- 
houses to  feed  their  fires ;  and  there  were  so  many  that  it 
took  months  to  consume  them.  At  that  time  Alexandria 
had  four  thousand  palaces,  four  hundred  places  of  amuse- 
ment, twelve  thousand  gardens,  and  four  hundred  public 
baths. 

After  that  the  people  were  converted  to  the  Mohamme- 
dan religion,  and  nine  tenths  of  all  the  Egyptians  are  now 
of  that  faith.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Arabs  were 
conquered  by  the  Turks,  and  the  country  is  now  a  depend- 
ency of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  being  ruled  by  a  governor 
called  the  Khedive. 

In  times  past  the  Egyptians  have  been  terribly  op- 
pressed. They  have  been  forced  to  work  for  the  govern- 
ment without  pay,  and  have  been  treated  quite  as  harshly  by 
their  masters  as  the  Israelites  were  treated  by  the  Egyptian 
kings  in  the  days  of  Moses.  Of  late  years,  however,  the 
country  has  been  so  in  debt  to  Great  Britain  that  the  British 
have  practically  taken  charge  of  it,  directing  the  Khedive 
how  to  rule.  This  is  a  good  thing  for  Egypt.  The  British 
see  that  good  order  is  kept.  The  peasants  are  not  op- 
pressed, taxes  have  been  reduced,  and  railroads  have  been 
built  far  up  the  Nile  valley,  so  that  we  can  travel  through 
most  of  the  country  by  rail. 

We  spend  but  a  few  days  in  Alexandria.  It  is  the  chief 
city  on  the  African  coast  and  is  still  noted  for  its  com- 


ALEXANDRIA  AND   CAIRO 


95 


merce,  although  its  scholarly  traits  have  long  since  passed 
away.  It  has  one  of  the  best  harbors  on  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  more  than  twenty  steamship  lines  connect  it 
with  Europe  and  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  streets 
are  wide  and  well  paved,  with  tramways  running  through 
them.  The  business  blocks  are  like  those  of  Europe,  and 
there  are  many  fine  foreign 
buildings  in  addition  to  the 
boxHke  houses  of  the  natives. 

We  stroll  about  the  wharves 
watching  the  loading  of  cot- 
ton, sugar,  grain,  elephants' 
tusks,  ostrich  feathers,  and 
other  merchandise  brought 
up  the  Nile  valley  from  cen- 
tral Africa.  We  then  take 
a  donkey  ride  out  over  the 
ground  where  the  great  li- 
brary stood  to  look  at  Pom- 
pey's  pillar,  a  huge  column 
of  granite  which  was  erected 
as  a  monument  centuries  ago. 

A  few  hours  by  train 
brings  us  from  Alexandria  to  Pompey's  pillar. 

Cairo,  the  capital  of  Egypt,  the  largest  city  of  Africa,  and 
one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  of  the  world.  It  lies 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Nile,  so  situated  that  it  is  often 
spoken  of  as  a  beautiful  jewel  joining  the  handle  to  the 
green  fan  of  the  delta. 

There  was  a  city  here  many  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
and  the  present  Cairo  was  founded  by  the  Arabs  shortly 


96  AFRICA   , 

after  they  conquered  Egypt.  It  was  made  the  capital  of 
Egypt  centuries  ago,  and  it  is  to-day,  next  to  Constanti- 
nople, the  chief  Mohammedan   city  of  the  world. 

The  distance  between  Alexandria  and  Cairo  is  about  one 
hundred  miles.  The  delta  is  level,  and  rich  crops  stretch 
out  on  each  side  of  the  track  as  far  as  our  eyes  can  reach. 
Now  we  are  close  to  the  Nile  and  now  far  out  from  it, 
winding  our  way  through  pastures  dotted  with  cattle, 
donkeys,  and  camels,  and  by  the  mud  villages  which  are 
scattered  over  the  plains. 

At  every  stop  crowds  of  queerly  clad  people  rush  to 
the  car  windows  with  refreshments  to  sell.  There  are 
barefooted  girls  and  boys  in  blue  gowns ;  there  are  women 
with  their  faces  half  covered  carrying  clay  jars  of  water 
on  their  heads ;  and  peddlers  wearing  red  fez  caps,  who 
bring  us  hard-boiled  eggs,  oranges,  dates,  bread,  and  green 
sugar  cane.  We  bargain  with  them  for  some  fruit  and 
eat  it  on  the  train. 

As  we  near  Cairo  we  can  see  the  desert  stretching  away 
on  both  sides.  The  minarets  of  the  mosques  are  visible 
long  before  we  come  into  the  city,  and  not  far  from  the 
Nile  on  the  edge  of  the  desert  are  the  Pyramids,  those 
great  masses  of  stone  which  were  erected  as  tombs  by  the 
Egyptian  kings  of  the  past 

At  the  station  we  send  our  baggage  on  to  the  hotel  and 
take  donkeys  for  a  ride  through  the  city.  Each  of  us  has 
a  long-eared,  shaggy-haired  animal  with  a  high  red  saddle 
and  a  donkey  boy  trotting  behind.  The  boys  are  brown- 
skinned  little  fellows  in  bare  feet.  They  wear  skull  caps 
and  have  what  look  like  night  gowns  of  blue  cotton 
stretching  from  their  necks  to  their  ankles.    They  speak  a 


ALEXANDRIA  AND   CAIRO 


97 


little  English,  telling  us  the  names  of  their  donkeys.  One 
says :  *'  My  donkey  good  donkey.  Him  name  Uncle 
Sam,"  and  another :  "  My  donkey  best  donkey.  Him 
name  Yankee  Doodle."     They  see  we  are  Americans  and 


General  view  of  Cairo. 

think  these  names  will  please  us.  Each  boy  carries  a  rod 
with  which  he  pokes  the  donkey  or  whips  it  to  make  it  go 
faster ;  the  little  beasts  almost  throw  us  off  as  they  jerk 
their  hind  legs  from  one  side  to  the  other  to  escape  the 
rod. 

We  direct  the  boys  to  take  us  to  the  foreign  part  of 
the  city.  We  wish  to  see  the  palaces  of  the  Khedive  and 
his  officials,  and  the  wide  boulevards  and  beautiful  parks 
for  which  the  city  is  noted.  We  then  look  at  the  houses 
of  the  wealthy  Greeks  and  Egyptians,  and  later  dine  at 


98  AFRICA 

one  of  the  hotels  built  for  the  many  people  who  come  here 
from  Europe  and  America  to  spend  the  winter  on  account 
of  the  excellent  cUmate. 

After  dinner  we  rest  awhile  on  the  hotel  porch,  watch- 
ing the  turbaned,  long-gowned  jugglers  perform  their 
magical  tricks,  and  the  snake  charmers  make  their  poi- 
sonous snakes  move  to  and  fro  to  the  music  of  pipes. 
Ragged  musicians  play  for  us,  and  the  strange  characters 
of  Cairo  pass  up  and  down  the  street  before  our  eyes. 
There  are  business  men  and  travelers  in  European  clothes. 
There  are  soldiers  on  horseback,  turbaned  sheiks  on 
donkeys,  and  Bedouins  on  camels.  There  are  officials 
in  carriages,  with  footmen  running  in  front  carrying  the 
wands  of  authority  to  make  the  people  get  out  of  the  way. 
Here  goes  an  automobile,  there  is  a  boy  on  a  bicycle,  and 
behind  comes  a  woman  driving  a  donkey  load  of  hens  and 
geese.  The  fowls  are  in  crates,  and  they  crane  their 
necks  out  of  the  slats.  Down  the  street  comes  a  boy  with 
a  cow,  which  he  milks  from  door  to  door.  He  has  a 
stuffed  calf  in  his  arms  and  sets  this  beside  the  cow  when 
he  milks  her;  he  says  the  cow  will  let  down  her  milk  if 
any  kind  of  a  calf  is  near  by. 

Now  our  donkey  boys  are  ready,  and  we  start  on  our 
trip  through  old  Cairo,  galloping  in  and  out  through  the 
crowd  to  the  oriental  section  of  the  city.  The  houses 
are  like  those  of  the  native  parts  of  the  African  towns 
we  have  seen.  They  are  flat-roofed  and  box-shaped. 
Many  have  windows  of  latticework  extending  out  over 
the  street,  and  the  doors  are  wonderfully  carved.  Most  of 
the  buildings  are  white,  and  nearly  all  have  dark-skinned 
Egyptians  standing  outside  or  peeping  out  through  the 


ALEXANDRIA   AND   CAIRO  99 

slats  of  the  windows.     The  streets  are  narrow  and  dirty 
and  more  thronged  than  those  of  other  parts  of  the  city. 


"  Now  our  donkey  boys  are  ready  .  .  ." 

And  then  the  noise  and  the  people  !  We  thought  it 
strange  in  Algiers  and  Tunis,  but  Cairo  is  strangest  of 
all.  We  are  moving  along  through  a  kaleidoscope  of  many 
colors  and  costumes,  crowded  and  jostled  by  people  on  foot, 
and  by  horses,  donkeys,  and  camels.  We  are  pushed  to 
the  wall  again  and  again  by  the  porters,  who  carry  great 
boxes  and  bales  on  their  backs,  held  there  by  ropes  tied 
around  their  foreheads.  Our  guide  yells  to  those  in  front 
to  get  out  of  the  road  and  warns  us  to  be  careful.  We  go 
by  girls  carrying  water  on  their  heads  in  great  earthen 
jars,  so  carefully  balanced  that  it  does  not  spill  as  they 
walk  along  through  the  crowd.  Blind  beggars  are  picking 
their  way  with  canes,  and  peddlers  are  crying  their  wares. 
Some  have  trays  of  fruit  on  their  heads  and  some  jars  of 
lemonade  on  their  backs. 


100 


AFRICA 


The  water  carriers  ask  us  to  drink  from  their  goatskins, 
and  we  are  besieged  everywhere  by  the  beggars.  '*  Back- 
sheesh !  Backsheesh  !  Backsheesh  !  A  gift !"  they  cry,  not 
only  in  Cairo,  but  all  over  Egypt.  From  now  on  we  shall 
find  men,  women,  and  children  begging  wherever  we  go, 
the  children  running  beside  our  donkeys  for  blocks  with 
their  little  brown  hands  outstretched  for  alms. 

We  see  richly  dressed  men  wearing  turbans  and  gowns, 
and   now   and   then   finely   clad   ladies   with   veiled   faces 

going  along  with 
black  men  servants 
to  guard  them. 

We  spend  much 
time  in  the  bazaars. 
Above  the  streets 
there  is  matting 
which  shuts  out  the 
sun,  making  a  city 
of  stores  under  one 
roof.  Every  variety 
of  merchandise  has 
its  own  place,  and 
work  of  all  sorts 
goes  on  in  the  shops 
where  the  mer- 
chants are  seUing. 
Here  boys  and  men  in  red  fez  caps  and  long  gowns  are 
making  cups  and  trays.  They  sit  at  low  tables,  on  which 
are  sheets  of  brass  which  they  pound  into  shape.  In  the 
bazaar  of  the  carvers,  boys  squat  on  the  floor  and  hold  the 
wood  with  their  toes  as  they  cut  it,  and  in  the  street  of  the 


A  street  in  old  Cairo. 


ALEXANDRIA   AND    CAIRO 


lOI 


booksellers,  men  sit  cross-legged  and  bind  cuTKvad  vol- 
umes. We  walk  through  streets  where  only  Pej'^ian  goods 
are  sold,  and  pass  on  to  the  Indian  bazaar,  where"  most  ot 
the  dealers  are  Hindoos.  There  are  also  Turkish  bazaars 
noted  for  their  fine 
rugs,  bazaars  sell- 
ing watches  and 
jewelry,  and  others 
where  one  can  buy 
sweetmeats,  per- 
fumery, and  spices. 

Every  now  and 
then  we  get  down 
from  our  donkeys 
to  talk  with  the  tur- 
baned,  long-gowned 
merchants.  They 
treat  us  politely, 
asking  us  to  sit  on 
the  ledge  outside 
their  stores,  and  to  ^  ^^^^^^  s^^"®- 

have  a  cup  of  coffee  with  them  while  discussing  the  prices. 
Everything  is  sold  by  bargaining,  and  they  always  ask 
more  at  first  than  they  expect  to  get. 

The  time  passes  quickly,  and  we  go  to  the  hotel  for  our 
meals,  returniifg  to  the  native  quarter  again  and  again. 
We  visit  the  mosques  for  which  Cairo  is  noted.  Some  of 
them  cover  acres,  their  huge  buildings  rising  high  above 
the  rest  of  the  city.  Every  mosque  has  a  court  in  it  with 
a  fountain,  where  the  people  wash  their  feet  and  hands 
before  going  in ;  and  each  has  its  minaret,  on  which  the 


102  AFRICA 

priest  ".Stands  at  certain  hours  of  the  day  and  night  and 
calls  -the  people  to  prayers.  We  take  off  our  shoes  or 
put  slippers  over  them  before  entering  the  mosques ;  the 
Mohammedans  tell  us  we  may,  if  we  wish,  keep  our  hats 
on. 

One  day  is  spent  at  the  University  of  Cairo,  the  largest 
of  all  Mohammedan  schools.  Here  Egyptian  boys  and 
men  study  the  Koran,  as  we  saw  the  Moorish  boys  doing 
at  Fez.  The  school  is  held  in  a  mosque,  and  the  scholars 
are  of  all  ages,  from  little  boys  of  four  to  gray-bearded 
men  of  seventy.  They  are  sitting  on  the  floor  in  groups, 
all  in  their  bare  feet  or  stocking  feet,  their  shoes  having 
been  left  outside  the  mosque.  Some  of  the  children  are 
learning  to  write  the  Arabic  characters,  some  are  commit- 
ting sentences  from  the  Koran,  and  they  sway  back  and 
forth  as  they  sing  out  the  words.  One  of  the  first  sen- 
tences they  learn  is:  "There  is  no  God  but  God,  and 
Mohammed  is  His  prophet."  School  is  held  here  all  the 
year  round.  There  are  but  few  holidays  and  no  long 
vacations.  The  children  begin  when  the  sun  rises,  first 
saying  their  prayers  and  then  studying  until  noon. 

Later  we  visit  some  of  the  Coptic  churches.  The  Copts 
are  descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  have  a  rude 
form  of  Christianity.  There  are  several  hundred  thou- 
sand of  them  in  Egypt.  They  dwell  chiefly  in  the  cities, 
dressing  and  living  like  the  Mohammedans.  They  are 
usually  clerks  or  scribes.  We  can  tell  them  by  their  black 
turbans  and  kaftans  or  vests.  The  Copts  have  a  language 
of  their  own.  In  Upper  Egypt  they  own  most  of  the 
land.  We  shall  see  people  who  beUeve  in  the  same  religion 
in  Abyssinia  farther  on  in  our  travels. 


ANCIENT   EGYPT  — THE   PYRAMIDS   AND   SPHINX        103 

15.    ANCIENT    EGYPT  — THE    PYRAMIDS  AND 
THE    SPHINX 

TO-DAY  we  are  to  learn  something  of  the  people  who 
lived  in  the  Nile  valley  many  thousand  years  ago. 
We  shall,  in  our  imagination,  go  back  almost  to  the  begin- 
ning of  history,  and  travel  in  the  footsteps  of  the  kings 
and  people  of  that  time.  We  shall  see  the  Pyramids,  the 
Sphinx,  and  other  monuments ;  and  later,  in  the  Museum 
at  Cairo,  the  statues  of  the  monarchs  who  made  them, 
and  even  the  very  kings  themselves,  for  their  bodies  are 
preserved  to  this  day. 

The  Pyramids  have  for  ages  been  considered  among  the 
wonders  of  the  world.  They  are  enormous  monuments  of 
stone,  built  as  tombs  by  the  Egyptian  rulers,  four  or  five 
thousand  years  ago.  The  remains  of  fifty  or  sixty  Pyramids 
have  been  found  in  different  parts  of  the  Nile  valley,  and 
the  three  largest  and  best  preserved  are  here  in  the  desert, 
about  eight  miles  from  Cairo.  One  of  these,  the  Great 
Pyramid,  was  constructed  by  Cheops,  who  was  king  of  Egypt 
more  than  three  thousand  years  before  Christ  was  born. 

In  going  to  the  Pyramids  we  cross  the  Nile  over  a  mag- 
nificent iron  bridge  guarded  by  bronze  lions,  and  ride  upon 
an  electric  railway  through  a  long  avenue  of  acacia  trees, 
the  branches  of  which  intertwine  overhead,  forming  an 
arbor  reaching  clear  to  the  desert.  The  road  is  above  the 
fields,  and  the  green  stretches  away  to  the  north  and  south 
as  far  as  our  eyes  can  reach,  while  in  front  is  the  end  of 
the  arbor,  a  patch  of  light  as  big  around  as  a  drum  head. 
That  patch  is  the  desert. 

CARP.  AFRICA —  7 


104 


AFRICA 


we  cross  the   Nile  over  a  magnificent  iron  brid 


Shortly  after  leaving  Cairo  we  see  the  Pyramids  through 
the  trees.  They  seem  small  at  first,  but  they  grow  rapidly 
as  we  come  nearer,  looking  like  three  huge  piles  of  stones 
standing  out  against  the  blue  sky.  It  is  not  until  we  leave 
the  cars  and  walk  over  the  sand  to  them  that  we  can 
appreciate  their  immensity.  Now  we  are  in  front  of  the 
Great  Pyramid.  As  we  look  up,  it  seems  as  though  the 
whole  sky  were  walled  with  stone.  The  top  towers  high 
over  us,  almost  kissing  the  white  clouds  which  to-day  are 
floating  in  the  clear  blue  of  the  Egyptian  heavens. 

The  Great  Pyramid  was  once  four  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  feet  high ;  and,  although  a  vast  deal  of  it  has  been 
carted  away  to  make  buildings  for  Cairo,  it  is  still  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  Its  base  covers  nearly 
thirteen  acres,  and  its  top  is  a  platform  so  large  that  a 
good-sized  house  could  be  built  upon  it.     It  is  an  almost 


ANCIENT   EGYPT  — THE   PYRAMIDS   AND   THE   SPHEMX      105 


solid  mass  of  stone,  made  of  great  blocks  which  are  piled 
up  in  the  shape  of  steps,  growing  smaller  in  size  as  they 
rise. 

Herodotus,  the  Greek  historian,  tells  us  that  this  monu- 
ment was  built  by  forced  labor ;  and  that  it  took  one 
hundred  thousand  men  twenty  years  to  construct  it,  while 
ten  years  were  required  to  make  the  road  to  transport  the 
stones,  the  most  of  which  came  from  the  Arabian  moun- 
tains and  were  ferried  across  the  Nile.  When  Cheops 
died  he  was  buried  with  his  queen  inside  the  pyramid,  sep- 
arate rooms  having  been  made  for  the  queen  and  himself. 

We  climb  to  the  top,  each  assisted  by  three  Arabs,  who 
pull  and  push  us  from  one  great  stone  ledge  to  another. 
There  are  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty 
layers  of  stone,  each 
on  the  average  about 
as  high  as  a  dining 
table,  so  that  if  our 
friends  at  home  will 
go  to  their  dining 
rooms  and  climb  upon 
the  table  one  hundred 
and  fifty  times,  they 
will  appreciate  some- 
thing of  the  work  we 
do  in  climbing  this 
pyramid.  They  will 
not  be  helped,  how- 
ever, by  the  black-skinned  Arabs,  who  almost  jerk  our  arms 
from  the  sockets  as  they  drag  us  from  one  ledge  to  another. 


"We  climb  to  the  top, 


I06  AFRICA 

We  also  go  inside  and  with  flashlights  take  photo- 
graphs of  the  rooms  in  which  the  bodies  of  the  king  and 
queen  were  laid.  Each  is  as  big  as  the  ordinary  school- 
room, and  the  coffins,  made  of  great  blocks  of  granite, 
are  of  just  about  the  right  size  to  contain  the  body  of  a 
man. 

We  are  tired  when  we  get  down  to  the  desert,  and  are 
glad  to  hire  camels  to  ride  across  the  sands  to  the  Sphinx, 
another  mighty  monument  erected  by  the  kings  of  those 
days.  No  one  knows  just  how  old  the  Sphinx  is  nor  why 
it  was  made.  It  is  an  enormous  figure,  with  the  crouching 
body  of  a  lion  and  the  head  of  a  man,  cut  out  of  a  solid 
block  of  rock.  The  figure  is  as  high  as  a  five-story  house 
and  so  large  that  it  would  about  cover  the  ordinary  city 
lot.  Its  body  is  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  long  and  its 
fore  legs  measure  fifty  feet.  The  head  of  the  Sphinx  is  so 
large  that  it  would  fill  an  ordinary  schoolroom.  A  man 
standing  on  the  tip  of  its  ear  could  not  reach  to  the  crown 
of  the  head.  The  ears  are  each  four  feet  long,  and  the 
nose  measures  more  than  five  and  one  half  feet,  while  its 
mouth  is  so  big  that,  if  it  were  open,  an  ox  or  a  camel  could 
be  put  inside  it. 

The  face  of  the  Sphinx  is  now  somewhat  mutilated,  for 
it  has  been  shot  at  by  the  Arab  soldiers  and  has  been  worn 
away  by  the  sands  of  the  desert  which  have  been  blowing 
upon  it  for  five  or  six  thousand  years.  As  we  climb  upon 
the  great  body  we  wish  we  could  whisper  in  its  ear  and  ask 
it  to  tell  us  the  riddle  of  its  existence,  and  something  about 
the  strange  people  who  chiseled  it  out  of  the  rock. 

All  about  the  Sphinx  and  throughout  the  desert  near 
Cairo   are   the   remains   of    ancient   monuments.       Great 


ANCIENT   EGYPT  — THE   PYRAMIDS   AND   THE   SPHINX 


107 


chambers  have  been  found  under  the  sand,  in  which 
mummies,  jewelry,  and  other  things  were  stored.  Other 
chambers  and  pyramids  exist  farther  up  the  Nile  on  the 
site  of  Memphis,  which  was  a  capital  of  those  ancient  kings, 
but  which  has  now  passed  away.     There  are  other  wonder- 


The  Sphinx. 

ful  ruins  at  Thebes  and  Karnak  in  Upper  Egypt,  including 
the  remains  of  temples  and  avenues  lined  with  sphinxes, 
and  there  are  also  huge  statues  and  other  ruins  which 
show  us  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  were  a  civilized  people. 
Going  back  to  Cairo,  we  drive  out  to  see  the  obelisk  on 
the  site  of  HeliopoHs  (he-li-6p'6-lis),  the  old  City  of  the 
Sun.  This  place  was  noted  for  its  learning  thousands  of 
years  ago,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  obeUsk  was  here  long 


io8 


AFRICA 


before  Jacob  came  down  into  Egypt.  It  stood  on  one 
side  of  the  entrance  to  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  the 
end  of  an  avenue  of  sphinxes.  We  look  in  vain,  how- 
ever, for  the  remains  of  the  palaces,  temples,  and 
schools.  The  obeHsk  is  surrounded  by  green  fields,  and 
two  blindfolded  buffaloes  are  moving  a  water  wheel  at 
one  side  of  it,  while  beyond  are  the  yellow  sands  of 
the  desert  with  the  Pyramids  rising 
above  them. 
^St  In  the  Museum  at  Cairo  we  see 

iS^i^  scores  of  mummies  which  have  been 

found  in  the  tombs.  These  mummies 
are  the  real  bodies  of  the  ancient 
kings,  so  treated  with  ointments  that 
they  have  not  crumbled  to  dust. 
The  limbs  are  wrapped  around  with 
many  cloths,  and  some  faces  are  so 
Hfelike  that  it  seems  as  though  they 
might  talk.  We  look  at  a  princess 
who  may  have  been  the  one  who 
found  little  Moses  in  the  bulrushes ; 
and  linofer  lono:  before  Rameses,  the 
mummy  of  an  Egyptian  ruler  whose 
mummy.  body  has  been  preserved. 

In  other  rooms  we  examine  articles  taken  from  the 
tombs.  There  are  gold  bracelets  and  rings  like  coiled 
snakes,  similar  to  the  jewelry  of  to-day.  There  are  fish- 
hooks like  the  ones  we  use  now,  trinkets  for  the  toilet, 
writing  materials,  and  other  things  which  show  us  that  the 
Egyptians  of  four  thousand  years  ago  were  not  far  differ- 
ent from  us. 


A  TRIP  THROUGH  THE   SUEZ  CANAL 


109 


16.  A  TRIP  THROUGH  THE  SUEZ  CANAL 

WE  have  come  from  Cairo  to  Port  Said  (sa-ed')  on  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  to  make  a  trip  through  the  Suez 
Canal,  before  starting  on  our  long  journey  up  the  Nile. 
We  are  now  at  the  northeastern  corner  of  Africa,  on  the 


Port  Said. 

Isthmus  of  Suez,  that  little  tongue  of  land  which  for  ages 
blocked  what  is  now  one  of  the  great  commercial  water 
routes  of  the  world. 

Until  a  few  years  ago,  Africa  was  a  peninsula  tied  to 
Asia  by  this  narrow  isthmus.  Then  the  canal  was  cut 
through,  and  the  continent  became  an  island. 

Do  you  realize  how  important  this  was  to  the  commerce 
of  the  world  ?  For  ages  this  Isthmus  of  Suez  was  the 
locked  gate  on  the  shortest  water  route  between  Europe 


no  AFRICA 

and  India,  China,  and  Japan.  Ships  could  sail  in  from 
the  Atlantic  and  across  the  Mediterranean  to  this  place, 
and  they  could  come  through  the  Indian  Ocean  and  up  the 
Red  Sea,  but  here  they  were  stopped.  The  isthmus  is  a 
strip  of  sand  so  narrow  that  a  railroad  train  could  cross  it 
in  a  couple  of  hours  ;  but  it  was  as  great  a  barrier  to  navi- 
gation as  though  it  had  been  the  Alps  or  the  Andes.  The 
result  was  that  all  vessels  carrying  goods  to  and  from 
Asia  had  to  sail  clear  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, — the 
southern  end  of  the  African  continent.  The  distance  was 
as  great  as  halfway  around  the  world,  and  it  took  many 
weeks  to  make  the  voyage. 

From  time  to  time  men  suggested  that  the  isthmus 
might  be  cut  through  ;  but  it  was  not  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  that  anything  was  done.  Then 
a  French  civil  engineer,  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  brought 
forth  plans  for  the  work  ;  and  the  French,  aided  by  the 
Egyptians,  cut  this  great  trench  through  the  desert,  and 
the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Red  Sea  flowed 
together. 

The  trench  is  eighty-six  miles  long,  and  so  wide  and  deep 
that  great  steamers  can  sail  through.  Harbors  were  con- 
structed at  both  ends  of  the  canal  to  accommodate  the  ship- 
ping, parts  of  the  trench  were  walled  with  cement  to  keep 
back  the  sand,  and  at  every  few  miles  great  basins  were 
made  for  ships  to  enter  while  other  ships  passed  them. 

The  canal  cost  more  than  one  hundred  million  dollars, 
and  it  took  ten  years  to  make  it.  Twenty-five  thousand 
Arabs  and  Egyptians  were  kept  working  upon  it,  and  four 
thousand  casks  of  drinking  water  were  daily  carried  across 
the  desert  on  camels  to  supply  them.     Then  a  small  canal 


A  TRIP  THROUGH   THE   SUEZ   CANAL 


III 


was  dug  from  the  Nile,  and  this 
is  still  used  to  give  fresh  water 
to  the  people  who  live  along 
the  Suez  Canal. 

Some  of  the  land  along  the 
canal  was  found  to  be  below 
the  level  of  the  sea.  Those 
parts  needed  but  little  digging, 
and  when  the  canal  reached 
them  the  salt  water  flowed  in 
and  made  lakes  there.  About 
two  thirds  of  the  whole  dis- 
tance across  the  isthmus  is  now 
taken  up  by  the  canal  proper, 
and  the  other  third  by  such 
lakes. 

As  soon  as  the  canal  was 
completed,  most  of  the  steam- 
ers sailing  between  Asia  and 
Europe  began  coming  this 
way.  The  saving  in  miles  for 
nearly  all  of  them  is  greater 
than  the  distance  from  our 
country  to  China  across  the 
Pacific,  and  there  is  also  a  sav- 
ing in  money,  although  the 
canal  officials  charge  high  rates. 
Every  ship  has  to  pay  a  heavy 
toll,  in  proportion  to  its  size 
and  the  number  of  its  passen- 
gers. 


112  AFRICA 

The  Suez  Canal  is  open  to  ships  of  all  nations ;  it  is 
now  used  by  thousands  of  steamers  every  year,  and  sev- 
eral hundred  thousand  passengers  annually  ride  through 
it.  There  is  so  much  travel  that  the  water  way  is  over- 
crowded, and  as  it  has  proved  to  be  a  profitable  under- 
taking, it  may  some  time  be  necessary  to  build  another 
canal  by  its  side. 

We  find  the  harbor  at  Port  Said  full  of  steamers,  which 
are  waiting  to  enter  the  canal  or  have  stopped  to  coal  upon 
coming  out.  A  ship  from  India,  loaded  with  grain,  lies  at 
one  wharf,  and  near  it  is  a  vessel  from  Australia  with  a 
cargo  of  wool.  While  we  wait  an  English  ship  carrying 
the  first  tea  of  the  season  from  China  to  Europe  passes  by, 
and  an  American  gunboat  on  its  way  to  the  Philippines 
starts  into  the  water  way. 

We  take  passage  on  a  vessel  for  Suez,  and  are  soon 
steaming  along  through  the  desert.  We  go  slowly,  for 
the  ships  are  not  allowed  to  move  faster  than  five  miles 
an  hour ;  and  at  the  wider  places  we  frequently  receive  a 
signal  from  one  of  the  stations  on  the  shore  to  wait  until  a 
steamer  goes  by. 

Now  we  pass  a  great  dredge  which  is  pumping  up  the 
sand  from  the  bottom  of  the  canal  and  throwing  it  out 
upon  the  banks  ;  and  now  go  by  one  of  the  small  towns 
which  has  grown  up  to  accommodate  the  laborers  who  are 
employed  on  the  work. 

The  canal  is  so  narrow  that  the  ships  in  the  distance 
seem  to  be  walking,  as  it  were,  in  single  file  through  the 
desert.  We  are  close  to  the  shore  most  of  the  way,  and 
the  dry,  thirsty  sand  looks  drier  than  ever  in  contrast  with 
the  sea-green  water  below. 


A  TRIP  THROUGH   THE   SUEZ   CANAL 


113 


We  pass  caravans  of  camels  trotting  along,  their  riders 
bobbing  up  and  down  against  the  clear  sky,  and  at  one 
time  in  the  hazy  air  of  the  desert  see  what  looks  like  a  city, 
shaded  by  palms,  afar  off  over  the  sand.     It  fades  away  as 


"...  steaming  along  through  the  desert." 

we  go  onward,  and  we  learn  that  it  had  no  existence ;  but 
was  merely  a  picture  of  the  air,  the  mirage  so  often  seen 
in  desert  lands. 

We  stop  at  Ismailia,  a  little  town  midway  through  the 
canal,  where  De  Lesseps  lived  while  it  was  building ;  and 
soon  after  that  enter  the  lakes,  scaring  up  some  pink 
flamingoes  which  are  resting  on  the  shores.  The  trip  takes 
us  all  day  and  far  into  the  night,  but  we  finally  reach  Suez, 
whence  we  go  back  to  Cairo  by  train. 


114 


AFRICA 


17.     NUBIA 

FROM  Cairo  we  travel  by  steamer  far  up  the  Nile, 
stopping  at  the  chief  towns  along  the  banks.  We 
visit  Siut  (se-oot'),  the  capital  of  Upper  Egypt,  a 
thriving  city  of  fifty  thousand  people ;  and  thence  steam 


"  We  visit  Siut, 


on  to  Assuan,  where  the  great  dam  is.  We  explore  the 
ruins  of  mighty  temples  built  by  the  Egyptians  of  the 
past ;  and  then  sail  on  for  days,  until  we  at  last  reach 
Khartum  (kar-toom'),  the  chief  city  of  Nubia,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  waters  of  the  White  Nile  and  Blue  Nile. 

The  valley  narrows  as  we  go  southward.     We  are  often 


NUBIA 


115 


close  to  the  desert  and  sometimes  between  rocky  hills  and 
strips  of  green  marking  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  Every- 
where half-naked  men  and  boys  are  raising  the  water  and 
pouring  it  into  ditches,  through  which  it  is  conducted  over 
the  land  ;  everywhere  are  the  same  mud  villages  shaded  by 
date  palms  which  we  saw  in  Lower  Egypt;  and  every- 
where donkeys  and  camels,  and  about  the  same  people  we 
traveled  amongst  in  the  delta. 

Still  farther  southward  the  natives  are  poorer  and  the 
villages  meaner.  There  are  more  negroes  in  the  crowd 
which  comes  out  to  the  steamer,  and  the  people  are  wild 
and  savage.  We  pass  dark-faced  Nubians  on  camels  who 
have  ridden  in  from  the  desert,  and  now  and  then  meet 
some  redolent  of  the  castor  oil  or  tallow  which  they  have 
used  to  grease  their  bodies  and  hair. 


".  .  .  dark-faced  Nubians  on  camels  .  .  .' 


ii6 


AFRICA 


We  are  now  in  Nubia,  or  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  the  long 
strip  of  arid  plains,  largely  desert,  through  which  the  Nile 
has  cut  its  way  down  to  Egypt.  The  country  is  tributary 
to  Egypt,  and  is  therefore  controlled  by  the  British,  many 
of  whom  we  find  at  Khartum.  This  is  important,  for  it  is 
through  Nubia  that  a  part  of  the  Cape  to  Cairo  Railroad, 


A  port  on  the  upper  Nile. 

planned  to  run  north  and  south  through  the  whole  conti- 
nent of  Africa,  is  to  be  built.  We  have  seen  cars  puffing 
along  the  banks  of  the  Nile  as  we  came  up  to  Khartum. 
The  railroad  with  one  short  track  already  extends  here  from 
Alexandria,  and  railroads  have  been  built  from  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  northward  for  many  hundreds  of  miles.  By 
and  by  Hues  will  be  constructed  connecting  these  roads 
with  Khartum,  branches  will  be  built  to  the  east  and  west, 


NUBIA  117 

and  one  will  then  be  able  to  visit  most  parts  of  this  wild 
continent  by  rail. 

At  present  the  only  way  of  getting  about  through  Nubia 
is  on  the  rivers  or  by  caravan.  Much  of  the  country  is 
thinly  settled.  The  Nubians  live  in  villages  of  tents  or 
thatched  huts,  moving  about  with  their  herds  of  cattle, 
camels,  donkeys,  sheep,  and  goats  from  pasture  to  pasture. 
Where  the  water  is  plenty,  they  raise  tobacco,  millet,  and 
other  grains ;  but  in  general  they  are  herdsmen,  relying 
upon  their  cattle  for  support. 

The  Nubians  are  of  several  races,  each  of  which  has  its 
own  language.  They  have  many  tribes,  ruled  by  sheiks 
or  chiefs.  They  are  Mohammedans  and  make  pilgrimages 
to  Mecca,  the  birthplace  of  their  prophet,  Mohammed. 

We  are  surprised  at  the  Nubians.  We  knew  they  were 
black  and  thought  they  might  be  like  negroes.  They  are 
far  different,  although  their  skins  are  jet-black  or  dark 
brown.  They  have  features  like  ours,  with  noses  as  straight 
and  Hps  almost  as  thin  as  our  own.  They  are  tall,  straight, 
and  wiry.  They  are  said  to  be  strong  and  are  so  proud  of 
their  power  of  bearing  pain  that  the  young  men  sometimes 
engage  in  flogging  matches  to  see  who  can  endure  most. 
Such  matches  are  held  in  the  presence  of  the  young  women 
of  the  village,  who  play  a  quaint  music  while  the  contest 
goes  on.  The  young  men  step  into  the  ring  two  at  a  time, 
each  clad  in  a  single  cloth  about  the  loins,  and  armed  with 
a  long  whip  of  hippopotamus  hide.  As  the  music  strikes 
up  the  two  begin  to  flog  each  other.  The  whips  make  the 
blood  come,  and  they  continue  the  struggle  until  one  falls 
exhausted.  The  man  who  can  stand  up  the  longest  against 
all  his  fellows  is  considered  the  best.     He  is  entitled  to 


ii8 


AFRICA 


marry  the  belle  of  the  village ;  he  is  the  favorite  of  the 
women  for  some  time  thereafter,  and  bears  the  proud  title 
of  *'  The  brother  of  the  girls." 

It  is  so  warm  in  Nubia  that  one  needs  but  little  clothing. 
Small  children  go  about  naked,  and  many  of  the  older 
people  wear  only  a  strip  of  cotton  cloth  about  the  waist, 
which  falls  to  the  knees. 

The  most  peculiar  thing  about  the  Nubian  is  his  hair. 
It  is  so  dressed  that  it  stands  out  in  a  great  mass  or  brush 

on  the  top,  with  a  fringe 
of  braids  hanging  down 
about  the  neck,  covering 
his  ears.  Hairdressing 
is  the  most  important 
part  of  his  toilet.  The 
hair  must  be  stiff  to 
hold  its  shape,  and  the 
stiffening  usually  con- 
sists of  tallow  taken 
from  a  freshly  killed 
sheep.  The  best  fat  is 
that  which  has  been  well 
chewed  by  human  teeth, 
and  at  each  dressing  the 
family  and  friends  are  called  in  to  chew  tallow.  When 
the  fat  is  properly  mixed,  it  is  rubbed  in  and  the  hair 
combed  after  the  latest  style. 

In  the  desert  parts  of  the  Sudan  the  bathing  is  quite  as 
curious  as  the  hairdressing.  Water  is  scarce,  and  tallow 
takes  its  place.  The  person  to  be  bathed  stretches  himself 
at  full  length  upon  a  mat  and  is  then  rubbed  from  head  to 


The  most  peculiar  thing  about  the 
Nubian  is  his  hair." 


NUBIA  119 

foot  with  mutton  fat,  scented  with  musk  or  other  perfumery. 
After  this  the  body  is  well  kneaded,  the  arms,  legs,  and 
every  part  of  it  being  rubbed  and  squeezed ;  this  process 
gives  one,  so  the  Nubians  claim,  a  more  delightful  sensa- 
tion than  a  hot  water  bath. 

Let  us  visit  a  village  and  see  something  of  the  Nubians 
at  home.  The  huts  are  inside  a  fence,  put  up  as  a  protec- 
tion from  robbers.  Each  hut  is  circular  in  shape.  It  is 
low^  and  has  a  conical  roof.  There  are  neither  windows 
nor  chimneys,  and  the  Hght  comes  in  through  the  door. 
The  floor  is  the  ground,  and  the  only  ceiling  is  the  cov- 
ering of  thatch  which  forms  the  roof.  There  is  little 
furniture.  There  are  no  chairs  nor  tables.  The  people  sit 
on  the  floor  and  more  often  outside  the  huts.  A  rude  bed- 
stead with  a  mattress  of  ox-hide  strips  stands  in  a  corner, 
and  some  goatskin  bags,  a  granite  slab,  a  clay  griddle, 
several  earthenware  pots,  and  some  beautiful  baskets  are 
piled  up  at  one  side.  The  granite  slab  is  the  mill  of  the 
family  ;  upon  it  the  millet  and  other  grains  are  laid  and 
pounded  or  crushed  to  a  flour.  The  pots,  griddle,  and 
baskets  are  the  cooking  utensils.  The  pots  are  for  soups 
and  stews,  on  the  griddle  is  fried  the  sour  bread  which 
forms  one  of  the  chief  foods,  and  the  baskets  are  the  water 
buckets  of  the  family. 

But  how  can  one  carry  water  in  a  basket  ? 

He  can  not  in  baskets  like  ours,  but  these  are  different. 
They  are  made  of  straw  so  tightly  woven  that  they  will 
hold  water.  They  are  used  as  milking  pails,  too,  and  some- 
times milk  is  boiled  in  them. 

But  will  not  a  straw  basket  burn  if  one  holds  it  over  the 
fire.? 

CARP,  AFRICA  —  8 


I20 


AFRICA 


Yes,  but  the  Nubians  do  not  boil  milk  in  that  way.  They 
set  the  baskets  down  on  the  ground  and  drop  hot  stones 
into  them,  putting  in  more  and  more  until  the  milk  boils. 
They  cook  meat  on  red-hot  stones,  turning  it  from  side  to 
side  until  it  is  thoroughly  done. 

The  people  are  hospitable.  They  give  us  what  they 
have  and  often  refuse  to  take  pay,  although  they  accept 

our  presents  on  leav- 
ing. We  find  it  es- 
pecially difficult  to 
pay  them  for  milk ; 
for  the  Nubians 
think  that  if  one 
takes  money  for  it, 
his  cows  will  go  dry. 
These  people  are 
fond  of  their  cattle. 
Each  animal  has  its 
own  name,  and  ev- 
ery herd  has  a  cow 
known  as  the  lucky 
one,  whose  milk  is 
considered  better 
than  that  of  the 
others.  The  cattle  are  small,  with  humps  on  their  shoul- 
ders, like  those  of  India.  They  are  trained  to  Hfe  in  the 
desert  and  can  go  as  long  as  two  days  without  drinking. 

We  see  many  men  with  lances  and  shields.  The 
Nubians  are  brave  warriors,  and  skillful  in  hunting  and 
trapping  the  big  game  found  in  the  wilder  parts  of  the 
country.       They  catch  rhinoceroses,  hippopotamuses,  and 


1 

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^  S^,^^p 

We  see  many  men  with  lances  and 
shields." 


NUBIA  121 

wild  boars  in  pits  so  made  that  if  the  beasts  fall  in  they 
can  not  get  out.  A  sharpened  post  is  often  fixed  in 
the  ground  in  the  center  of  a  pit.  The  animal  falls  upon 
this  and  is  killed.  Such  pits  are  covered  with  a  thin  net, 
upon  which  branches  and  leaves  are  spread. 

They  sometimes  kill  an  elephant  by  slipping  up  and 
chopping  an  artery  of  one  of  his  hind  legs  with  a  sword. 
As  his  blood  flows  away,  the  beast  grows  weaker  and 
weaker,  and  finally  drops  dead.  The  hunter  must  be  care- 
ful lest  the  animal  give  him  a  blow  with  his  trunk,  and  he 
has  to  be  spry  or  he  may  be  crushed  to  death  with  the 
tusks  or  huge  feet. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  Nubian  sports  is  ostrich 
hunting.  Ostriches  are  found  in  large  numbers  in  the 
desert,  and  are  chased  by  parties  of  three  or  four  men  on 
horseback.  The  men  look  first  for  the  nests,  and  when 
they  find  one  with  an  ostrich  sitting  upon  it,  they  station 
themselves  near  it  on  their  horses  at  some  distance  apart. 
Then  one  rides  toward  the  nest.  As  soon  as  the  ostrich 
sees  him,  it  jumps  up  and  runs  away  with  all  its  might. 
For  a  short  distance  it  can  go  much  faster  than  a  horse. 
It  usually  travels  for  a  couple  of  miles  in  a  straight  line 
and  then  circles  around  so  as  not  to  get  far  from  its 
nest. 

Now  one  of  the  men  gallops  after  the  ostrich  until  his 
horse  is  tired  out.  He  then  gives  a  signal  and  another 
of  the  party  on  a  fresh  horse  starts  in,  and  so  they  go  on 
until  the  great  bird  drops  exhausted  to  the  ground.  Now 
the  hunter  jumps  down  and  chops  off  its  head  with  his 
sword.  He  seizes  the  long  neck  and  thrusts  it  deep  into 
the  sand,  that  the  blood  may  not  soil  the  precious  feathers. 


122 


AFRICA 


c\ 


_^: 


.  .  .  on  the  high  plateau  of  Abyssinia  . 


i8.    THE    ROOF  OF   AFRICA  — ABYSSINIA 


WE  have  been  climbing  for  days  since  we  left  Nubia, 
and  are  now  on  the  high  plateau  of  Abyssinia 
(ab-is-sm'i-a),  on  what  might  be  considered  the  roof  of  the 
continent.  There  are  some  higher  mountains  still  farther 
south ;  but  Africa  has  no  other  country  on  the  average  so 
high  as  this.  The  mean  level  of  the  plateau  is  more 
than  half  a  mile  higher  than  Mount  Washington,  with 
great  snow-capped  mountains  as  tall  as  Pikes  Peak  rising 
above  it. 

Abyssinia  is  so  beautiful  that  it  has  been  called  the 
Switzerland  of  Africa.  It  is  more  than  fifty  times  as  lal-ge 
as  Switzerland,  and  in  some  respects  far  more  beautiful. 
The  plateau   is   made  up  of    tablelands  rising  one  above 


THE   ROOF   OF  AFRICA  — ABYSSINIA  1 23 

the  Other.  Here  a  great  gorge  cuts  its  way  through,  there 
the  plain  falls  off  in  a  precipice  a  thousand  feet  deep,  and 
some  miles  farther  on  it  rises  in  bluffs  to  the  plains  above. 
In  almost  the  center  of  the  country  is  Lake  Tsana(tsan'a), 
and  down  the  sides  of  the  plateau  and  running  through  it, 
now  falling  in  cataracts  and  now  raging  in  torrents  through 
narrow  canyons,  flow  great  rivers,  some  of  which  lose  them- 
selves in  the  sand  ;  and  others,  such  as  the  Atbara  and  the 
Blue  Nile,  go  on  to  the  Nile  proper,  giving  food  and  water 
to  Egypt. 

We  have  already  seen  how  Egypt  is  the  child  of  Abys- 
sinia in  that  its  rich  soil,  carried  down  by  the  rivers,  has 
been  spread  over  the  desert.  What  must  be  the  nature  of 
a  land  that  has  furnished  such  soil  year  after  year  and  age 
after  age  .^  It  must  be  very  rich,  must  it  not.?  That  is 
the  character  of  Abyssinia. 

We  might  consider  this  country  an  island  of  the  richest 
soil  rising  high  above  a  sea  of  deserts  and  swamps.  Situ- 
ated in  the  tropics,  the  water-laden  winds  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  strike  its  cold  mountains,  so  that  at  certain  seasons 
the  rain  comes  down  in  torrents,  washing  the  soil  into  the 
valleys  and  filling  the  rivers  which  spread  it  over  the  coun- 
try below. 

We  notice  the  wonderful  fertility  of  the  land  as  we 
travel  from  place  to  place.  The  plateaus  rise  one  above 
the  other,  each  having  its  own  plants,  trees,  and  flowers. 
In  the  lowlands  it  is  hot,  and  there  are  jungles  of  bamboos 
so  dense  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  one's  way 
through  them  ;  there  are  fields  of  sugar  and  cotton  and  the 
fruits  of  the  tropics.  Higher  up  coffee  is  grown,  and  still 
higher  all  the  plants  and  grains  of  the  temperate  zone. 


124 


AFRICA 


In  many  parts  of  Abyssinia  coffee  grows  wild.  It  thrives 
especially  in  one  province,  and  from  there,  it  is  said,  the 
first  coffee  beans  were  carried  long  ago  to  Arabia,  and  thence 
spread  all  over  the  world.  The  name  of  this  province  is 
Kaffa,  and  from  it  comes  the  word  "  coffee."  The  natives 
there  do  not  cultivate  the  coffee  plants,  but  the  soil  is  such 
that  the  plants  grow  into  trees  so  large  that  they  are  some- 
times cut  down  and  made  into  boards. 


African  elephant. 

The  soil  of  Abyssinia  is  so  rich  in  places  that  it  gives 
four  crops  in  one  year.  The  people  are  lazy  and  plant 
only  enough  for  their  needs.  They  raise  little  patches  of 
corn,  wheat,  durra,  sorghum,  and  canary  seeds,  which  they 
grind  into  flour  for  bread. 

Much  of  Abyssinia  is  like  a  great  park,  with  clumps  of 
trees  here  and  there ;  it  has  pastures  so  rich  that  they  sup- 


THE    ROOF   OF   AFRICA  — ABYSSINIA 


125 


Abyssinians  with  the  lions  given  to  our  president. 

port  large  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  and  droves  of  ponies 
and  donkeys  and  fine  cattle  with  humps  on  their  backs. 
These  pastures  make  the  country  a  fine  place  for  game. 
There  are  thousands  of  antelopes,  zebras,  and  ostriches, 
and  so  many  elephants  that  one  sometimes  sees  a  hundred 
marching  together  through  the  woods. 

There  are  hippopotamuses  in  the  rivers,  and  we  must  be 
on  our  guard  against  the  hyenas,  leopards,  and  lions  as  we 
go  through  the  forests.  The  Abyssinians  are  famous  lion 
hunters,  and  some  of  the  warriors  wear  lion  skins  on  their 
shoulders.  When  the  President  of  the  United  States  sent 
an  embassy  to  Abyssinia  a  few  years  ago,  the  king  of  that 
country  ordered  two  lions  to  be  sent  back  to  him  as  a 
present  There  are  many  wild  birds  with  beautiful  plum- 
age, and  bees  are  so  common  that  the  favorite  drink  of  the 
people  is  a  fermented  mixture  of  honey  and  water. 


1 26  AFRICA 

The  Abyssinians  are  not  unlike  some  inhabitants  of  the 
Sahara.  They  have  black  or  brown  faces  with  features 
much  Hke  our  own.  They  are  tall,  straight,  and  fine- 
looking.  They  dress  in  cottons,  many  of  which  come 
from  our  country.  The  men  wear  long  robes  of  white 
with  a  red  stripe  a  foot  wide  woven  through  the  middle. 
Under  this  robe  they  have  shirts  and  tight  drawers.  The 
richer  men  have  cloaks  of  silk  or  velvet  thrown  over  their 
shoulders,  and  a  few  wear  lion  skins  as  signs  of  rank. 

The  poorer  class  of  Abyssinian  women  wear  white  cotton 
dresses ;  they  go  barefooted  and  often  bareheaded,  al- 
though some  have  shawls  tied  about  their  heads.  The 
richer  women  often  travel  upon  mules,  accompanied  by 
soldiers.  Their  dresses  are  usually  cotton,  although  some 
have  capes  of  black  satin  and  broad-brimmed  felt  hats 
over  which  they  wear  veils  of  silk.  Both  rich  and  poor 
have  a  cord  around  the  neck,  to  which  are  tied  crosses, 
ear  picks,  and  charms.  The  children  dress  much  like 
their  parents,  except  in  the  hot  lowlands,  where  they  wear 
almost  no  clothing. 

The  Abyssinians  live  in  small  villages  of  round  huts 
made  of  poles  thatched  with  leaves  and  grass.  There 
are  but  few  towns,  and  about  the  only  place  that  can 
be  called  a  city  is  the  capital,  where  the  king  lives.  This, 
during  recent  years,  has  been  at  Adis  Abeba  (a'dis 
a-ba'ba),  in  about  the  center  of  the  country.  It  lies  on 
a  high  plain  with  a  mud  wall  around  it,  and  it  is  more  like 
a  great  camp  than  a  city.  Its  houses  consist  of  these 
same  round,  tent-shaped  mud  huts  and  a  number  of 
large  buildings  which  are  the  palaces  of  the  king. 

Although  Abyssinia  is  ruled  by  a  king,  there  are  many 


THE   ROOF  OF  AFRICA  — ABYSSTXI A 


127 


tribes  each  of  which  has  its  own  chief  and  underofficials. 
The  Icing  has  a  large  army,  and  he  expects  every  one 
of  his  subjects  to  be  a  soldier.  Boys  are  taken  into  the 
army  long  before  the  age  at  which  our  boys  leave  school. 
At  eight  or  ten  each  boy  becomes  a  servant  of  a  soldier. 
He  walks  before  the  soldier  in  time  of  peace,  carrying 
his    gun,    which    he   is   expected    to   keep   clean   and   in 


Abyssinian  soldiers. 

good  order.  He  helps  take  care  of  the  horse  and  mule 
of  his  master,  and  learns  to  walk  far  without  tiring. 
We  try  a  race  with  some  of  the  boys  and  find  they  out- 
run us.  They  climb  up  hill  and  down  at  great  speed, 
keeping  along  with  the  troops  on  the  march. 

During  our  journey  we  meet  beggars  hobbling  about 
upon  crutches,  and  are  surprised  to  see  some  with  only 
one  hand  and  one  foot.  We  ask  whether  they  have 
lost    their  limbs   fighting,  and  are  told   that   they  are  so 


128  AFRICA 

maimed  because  they  were  thieves.  The  first  time  a 
man  is  caught  stealing  he  is  whipped,  the  second  time 
his  hand  is  cut  off,  and  if  he  steals  a  third  time  and  is 
found  out  he  loses  one  of  his  feet.  The  same  punish- 
ment is  given  deserters  from  the  army. 

Although  Abyssinia  is  so  rich,  its  products  are  small. 
The  chief  exports  are  coffee,  gum,  and  wax,  and  also 
gold  and  ivory,  the  trade  in  which  is  controlled  by  the 
king.  The  business  is  done  in  markets  held  from  time 
to  time  in  the  various  villages.  The  natives  for  miles 
around  come  to  such  markets  to  buy  and  sell  their 
cattle  and  grain. 

The  money  used  in  trading  is  different  in  different 
parts  of  the  country ;  but  one  can  buy  goods  every- 
where with  salt  or  cotton  cloth.  The  salt  comes  from 
a  dry  salt  lake  near  the  Red  Sea.  It  is  made  in  bars 
about  a  foot  long  and  two  inches  thick.  If  the  bar  is 
cracked  or  chipped  or  does  not  ring  right,  the  people 
will  not  accept  it.  Every  one  carries  some  of  this  money 
with  him,  and  when  two  persons  meet  each  breaks  off  a 
piece  of  salt  and  offers  it  to  the  other,  just  as  some  of 
our  people  offer  their  friends  cigars.  Each  eats  the 
salt,  and  then,  bowing  low,  goes  on  his  way.  We  soon 
fall  into  the  custom  and  carry  salt  sticks  in  our  pockets, 
as  strangers  often  ask  us  to  have  a  bite  of  salt  with  them 
upon  meeting. 

The  cotton  money  is  white  cloth  imported  from  America. 
In  addition  to  this  there  are  silver  dollars  worth  about  fifty 
cents,  gun  cartridges  which  pass  for  two  or  three  cents 
apiece,  and,  far  back  in  the  interior,  strips  of  iron  each 
worth  one  or  two   cents.     We    carry  some  of   all   kinds 


THE    ROOF   OF   AFRICA  — ABYSSINIA  1 29 

of  money  with  us,  and  have  no  trouble  in  making  our 
way,  as  we  have  a  permit  from  the  king  to  go  through 
the  land. 

We  buy  ponies  and  mules,  and  ride  from  place  to  place. 
There  is  only  one  railroad,  and  that  is  from  Jibuti 
(je-boo-te')  on  the  coast  to  the  capital,  Adis  Abeba, 
in  the  central  part  of  Abyssinia.  The  country  roads 
are  mere  tracks,  and  much  of  our  way  is  up  and  down  hill. 

We  have  little  trouble  about  food.  We  shoot  game 
on  the  way,  and  buy  chickens,  mutton,  and  beef  in  the 
native  markets.  We  do  our  own  cooking,  for  the  Abys- 
sinians  prefer  their  beef  so  rare  that  raw  meat  is  served 
at  nearly  every  feast.  They  put  red  pepper  on  such 
meat  and  sometimes  make  pellets  of  raw  beef  filled  with 
red  pepper  and  onions  and  eat  them.  Their  bread  is  in 
thin,  flat  cakes  of  about  the  size  of  a  handkerchief ;  it 
is  damp,  flabby,  and  often  sour. 

The  common  Abyssinian  eats  sitting  cross-legged  or 
squatting  on  the  floor,  and  at  each  meal  he  has  a  pile 
of  these  bread  cakes  beside  him.  He  uses  the  top  one 
as  a  napkin.  The  second  he  folds  up  and  dips  into  a 
bowl  of  melted  butter  in  which  red  pepper  is  mixed, 
and  when  it  is  well  soaked  he  squeezes  it  up  in  his 
hands  and  crams  it  into  his  mouth.  He  consumes  his 
meat  in  large  slices,  putting  one  end  of  the  slice  in 
his  mouth  and  cutting  off  as  much  as  he  can  hold  there 
by  a  stroke  of  his  knife  or  sword,  the  other  end  of  the 
slice  being  held  in  the  hand.  Soup  is  often  served  with 
meat.  In  such  cases  the  bread  is  soaked  in  the  soup, 
and  the  meat  is  then  taken  out  and  laid  on  the  soaked 
bread.     At  the  feasts  of  the  better  classes,  servants  are 


130 


AFRICA 


sometimes  required  to  eat  a  bit  of  each  dish  before  the 
others  partake,  to  show  that  it  is  not  poisoned. 

These  people  have  a  low  state  of   civilization.     There 
are  no  schools  to  speak  of,   and    but  few  can  read  and 

write.  They  have 
their  own  calendar, 
dividing  the  year  in- 
to twelve  months  of 
thirty  days  each  and 
adding  five  extra  days 
at  the  end  to  make 
the  year  come  out 
even.  The  last  five 
days  are  holidays. 
Every  leap  year  they 
have  an  extra  holi- 
day. 

The  Abyssinians 
are  Christians ;  but 
they  are  supersti- 
tious, their  religion 
beins:  somewhat  like 


Abyssinian  schoolboys  and  teacher. 


that  of  the  Copts  of  Egypt.  We  visit  the  churches  and 
listen  to  the  dark-faced  priests  singing  the  service  while 
other  priests  go  about  through  the  audience  swinging  urns 
in  which  incense  is  burning.  Each  priest  wears  a  robe 
decorated  with  silver.  Sometimes  the  bishop  carries  about 
a  silver  cross  and  allows  each  of  the  worshipers  to  kiss  it. 
There  are  no  seats  in  the  churches,  and  every  one  stands 
leaning  on  a  stick  while  he  listens.  We  are  handed  lean- 
ing sticks  as  we  come  in ;  and  the  girls  are  told  to  go  on 


ACROSS    BRITISH    EAST   AFRICA   BY    R^UL 


31 


one  side  of  the  church  with  the  women,  while  the  boys  are 
led  to  the  other  side  with  the  men,  a  white  curtain  sepa- 
rating: the  sexes. 


3>*:c 


19.     ACROSS   BRITISH   EAST  AFRICA  BY  RAIL 


w 


E  make  our  way  from  Abyssinia  down  to  the  sea- 
coast,  traveling  through  the  land  of  the  Somali 
(so-ma'le),  a  semisavage  race  of  blacks  who  inhabit  the 
desert  lands  along  the  coast  about  and  south  of  the  Horn 
of  East  Africa.  Their 
country  is  large,  being 
controlled  in  different 
parts  by  the  French, 
Italians,  and  British. 
The  natives  are  not  un- 
like the  people  we  saw 
in  the  Sahara;  they 
have  herds  of  camels, 
goats,  and  sheep,  and 
move  about  from  place 
to  place  seeking  pas- 
ture. Some  tribes  have 
villages  of  rude  huts 
with  walls  of  basket 
work  and  roofs  of  woven 
thatch.  The  doors  are  hinged  at  the  top  instead  of  the 
sides,  so  that  they  can  be  raised  to  form  an  awning  during 
the  heat  of  the  day. 

At  the  coast  we  take  passage  on  a  ship  and  sail  past 
Cape  Guardafui  (gwar-da-fwe')  at  the  tip  of  the  Horn,  and 


A  native. 


132 


AFRICA 


thence  on  south  until  we  reach  Mombasa  (mom-ba'sa)  on 
the  little  island  of  Mombasa  close  to  the  mainland.  We 
are  now  four  degrees  south  of  the  equator,  in  one  of  the 
most  bustling  places  of  this  part  of  the  world.  Mombasa 
is  not  only  the  capital  of  British  East  Africa,  but  also  the 


Somali  village. 

port  for  the  important  British  state  of  Uganda  (oo-gan'da), 
which  hes  in  the  highlands  about  as  far  inland  from  the 
Indian  Ocean  as  Ohio  is  distant  from  the  Atlantic. 

The  British  have  a  vast  amount  of  land  on  this  conti- 
nent. We  have  seen  how  they  practically  control  Egypt 
and  that  part  of  Nubia  south  of  it  along  the  course  of  the 
Nile.  Their  province  of  Uganda  south  of  Nubia  includes 
the  best  of  the  highlands  about  Lake  Victoria  from  which 
the  Nile  comes,  so  that  they  now  practically  control  all  the 


ACROSS   BRITISH    EAST  AFRICA   BY   RAIL 


133 


land  along  that  mighty  river  from  its  source  to  its  mouth. 
Uganda  alone  is  twice  as  large  as  Ohio,  and  British  East 
Africa,  which  is  between  Uganda  and  the  Indian  Ocean, 
is  ten  times  as  large  as  our  State  of  Indiana.  Both  prov- 
inces have  much  valuable  land  which  the  British  are 
opening  up  to  development  and  trade.  They  have  built 
a  railroad  from  Mombasa  across  British  East  Africa  to 
Lake  Victoria,  so  that  we  can  travel  to  the  highlands  of 
Uganda  by  comfortable  cars. 

We  first  explore  Mombasa.  It  is  a  thriving  little  city 
with  good  hotels  and  playgrounds  for  cricket,  football, 
and  other  sports.  It  is  inhabited  by  people  from  Asia, 
Africa,  and  Europe.  The  Africans  are  Mohammedan 
traders,  in  turbans  and  gowns,  and  black-faced  people 
from  the  mainland,  who  act  as  servants  and  do  most  of 


A  street  in  Mombasa. 


134  AFRICA 

the  hard  work.  The  Asiatics  are  largely  brown-skinned 
Hindoos,  who  have  come  from  India  to  engage  in  store- 
keeping  and  banking,  and  to  act  as  clerks  on  the  railway. 
The  Europeans  are  British  officials  and  merchants,  and 
also  Germans  and  French  who  have  come  here  to  trade. 

Many  of  the  natives  are  almost  naked,  although  they 
delight  in  jewelry  of  different  kinds.  The  women  have 
holes  in  the  lobes  of  their  ears  and  often  along  the 
whole  outer  rims,  and  wear  buttons  of  gold,  silver,  and 
other  metals  in  them.  Some  have  nose  rings,  and  some 
have  buttons  in  their  nostrils.  Many  of  them  look  like 
negroes,  and  others,  not  so  black,  have  features  almost  as 
regular  as  our  own. 

Leaving  Mombasa  by  train,  we  cross  the  bridge  over  the 
strait  to  the  mainland,  and  are  soon  on  our  way  through 
the  wilds  of  eastern  Africa.  The  railroad  is  a  narrow 
gauge,  and  the  cars  are  quite  small.  Now  and  then  we 
pass  a  train  loaded  with  tusks  of  ivory,  bales  of  hides,  india 
rubber,  and  also  cattle,  sheep,  donkeys,  and  goats.  We 
learn  that  horses,  mules,  donkeys,  sheep,  and  goats  are 
often  carried  on  the  same  train  with  the  passengers.  A 
horse  goes  as  a  first  class  fare,  a  donkey  pays  second, 
and  a  sheep  or  goat  is  carried  at  the  third  class  rate. 
This  may  be  different  as  the  traffic  increases. 

Now  we  have  left  the  seacoast  and  are  far  back  in  the 
country  climbing  the  hills.  We  rise  rapidly  and  at  Kiu 
station  enter  the  Athi  plains,  a  vast  rolling  country 
covered  with  grass  supporting  countless  herds  of  game. 
We  cross  these  plains  to  Nairobi,  the  most  important  rail- 
way and  military  station  upon  the  line,  where  we  stop  a 
few  days  to  enjoy  the  beautiful  scenery.     Mount  Kenia 


ACROSS   BRITISH    EAST   AFRICA   BY   RAIL 


135 


(ke'ne-a)  and  Kilimanjaro  (kil-e-man-ja'ro)  can  both  be  seen 
from  Nairobi,  and  the  climate  is  delightful. 

Going  onward,  we  rise  to  a  distance  of  more  than  a  mile 
and  a  half  above  the  sea,  passing  through  the  great  Rift 
valley,  and  then  descend  to  Port  Florence  situated  on  the 
shores  of  the  great  Victoria  Nyanza  (Nyan'za). 


Zebras. 

Most  of  our  journey  is  through  the  wilds,  now  over 
plains  and  now  through  dense  forests.  We  pass  many 
native  villages  and  strange  people  curiously  dressed  who 
stand  and  watch  the  train  as  it  goes  whizzing  by.  Now 
an  ostrich  races  along  almost  even  with  the  car  windows, 
and  now  we  see  a  great  herd  of  striped  zebras  gallop- 
ing away.  In  crossing  a  stream  we  surprise  a  hippo- 
potamus .wading  along  the  marshy  banks,  and  the  con- 
ductor tells  us  that  rhinoceroses  have  at  times  charged  the 
locomotives,  and   that  when    the    road  was    building  one 

CARP.  AFRICA  —  9 


136 


AFRICA 


butted  a  caboose  that  stood  on  a  down  grade  so  that  the 
brakes  loosened  and  the  cars  smashed  into  a  little  rail- 
road station,  half  wrecking  it.  There  are  also  antelopes  of 
different  kinds,  and  at  night  we  hear  the  hyenas  howling 
out  their  hoo-yee-yoo  ! 

The  natives  are  strange  in  the  extreme.  We  pass  vil- 
lages of  low  huts  built  in  a  circle,  so  that  the  cattle  can 
be  kept  inside  at  night.     The  houses  are  long  and  narrow, 

with  doors  so  arranged  that  the 
sheep  and  goats  run  in  and  out 
at  will.  Some  villages  have 
fences  of  thorns  about  them  to 
keep  out  the  wild  beasts.  We 
see  cattle  and  sheep  feeding, 
watched  by  dark-skinned  shep- 
herds, and  now  and  then  a  war- 
rior, his  head  decorated  with 
ostrich  feathers  and  his  body 
painted  to  make  him  look  fierce. 
He  carries  a  shield,  lance,  and 
sword,  and  might  be  dangerous 
if  we  met  him  alone  in  the 
wilds. 

The  natives  gather  around  the 
cars  as  we  stop  at  the  stations. 
^  ^^  "^  ^^'  There  are  black-skinned  men 

and  boys  with  great  holes  in  the  lobes  of  their  ears,  in 
which  pieces  of  wood  or  other  things  are  inserted  ;  and 
girls  with  shaved  heads  who  wear  as  ornaments  telegraph 
wire  wrapped  around  the  legs,  arms,  and  neck  so  tightly 
that  only  a  blacksmith  can  remove  it.     Some  are  dressed 


ACROSS    BRITISH   EAST    AFRICA    BY    RAIL 


Z7 


in  calicoes,  and  others  have  bullock  hides  wrapped  around 
them.  In  another  province  the  women  wear  short  petti- 
coats of  bark  cloth. 

The  children  have  almost  no  clothing,  but  even  the  lit- 
tle boys  have  holes'  in  their  ears  so  big  that  they  can  put 


Girls  with  wire  ornaments. 


two  fingers  through  them.  These  people  inhabit  the 
slopes  of  Kilimanjaro  and  Mount  Kenia,  and  the  high 
plateau  region  bet\Veen  them  which  is  rich  in  forests  and 
pastures.  They  are  noted  as  cattle  breeders  and  as 
warriors. 

Farther  east  we  see  other  strange  races,  each  having  its 
own  customs  and  dress,  and  at  the  end  of  the  road  at 
Port  Florence  upon  Lake  Victoria,  the  people  are  if  any- 
thing stranger  than  ever. 


138  AFRICA 


20.     ABOUT    LAKE   VICTORIA 

BEFORE  we  go  farther  let  us  stop  and  think  just  where 
we  are.  We  have  been  traveUng  so  fast  that  our 
brains  have  grown  tired  in  trying  to  understand  all  we  see. 
Everything  is  new  and  different  from  what  we  expected. 
We  are  on  the  hot  continent  of  Africa  and  not  far  from 
the  equator ;  but  the  weather  is  pleasant,  and  the  breezes 
from  Lake  Victoria  are  cool.  We  are  on  a  high  rolling 
plateau  with  mountains  rising  here  and  there  far  above  it. 
To  the  east  and  south  is  Kilimanjaro,  so  far  away  that  we 
can  not  see  it.  It  is  one  of  the  tallest  mountains  in  Africa 
and  among  the  great  mountains  of  the  world.  Although 
near  the  equator,  its  top  is  crowned  with  perpetual  snow. 
Farther  northward,  between  us  and  the  coast,  is  Mount 
Kenia,  almost  as  tall,  and  on  the  west,  on  the  other  side 
of  Uganda,  are  the  Ruwenzori  (rob-wen-zo're)  Mountains, 
which  some  say  are  quite  as  high  if  not  higher  than 
Kilimanjaro  itself. 

All  the  land  about  us  is  far  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
It  consists  of  rolling  plains,  w4th  gorges  here  and  there 
running  through  them,  and  great  troughs  and  basins  in 
which  are  some  of  the  largest  lakes  of  the  world,  such  as 
Lake  Tanganyika  (tan-gan-ye'ka),  lying  between  German 
East  Africa  and  the  upper  Kongo,  Lake  Albert  Edward 
and  Lake  Albert  on  the  west  of  Uganda,  Lake  Rudolf  in 
British  East  Africa,  and  Lake  Victoria,  the  northern  half 
of  which  belongs  to  the  British  and  the  southern  half  to 
the  Germans, 

Lake  Victoria  is  larger  than  Lake  Huron,  almost  three 


ABOUT   LAKE   VICTORIA 


139 


times  the  size  of  Lake  Erie,  and  it  ranks  with  Lake  Superior 
as  one  of  the  two  largest  lakes  of  the  world.  Its  waters 
have  a  deep  blue  color  when  looked  upon  from  a  distance, 
but  they  are  clear  and  sweet  to  the  taste. 

The  banks  of  the  lake  are  grassy  hills  and  rugged  rocks. 
In   some  places  near  the  shore  the  water  is  shallow,  and 


" ....  we  see  beds  of  papyrus  reeds,  ..." 

there  we  see  beds  of  papyrus  reeds,  the  lairs  of  hippopota- 
muses and  crocodiles.  There  are  many  large  islands, 
some  of  which  are  inhabited  by  half-naked  people,  and 
also  floating  islands  of  papyrus  reeds,  patches  which  have 
been  torn  loose  from  the  bed  of  the  lake  and  move  to  and 
fro  with  the  current. 


140 


AFRICA 


The  British  have  steamers  here,  and  we  make  an  excur- 
sion on  one  of  them,  caUing  at  the  villages  along  the  shore. 
At  some  places  the  natives  seem  fierce,  and  we  hardly  dare 
land.  They  hold  up  their  shields,  and  shake  their  spears 
at  us.  At  other  ports  the  people  are  more  friendly,  and 
we  are  treated  to  roast  kid,  clotted  milk,  bananas,  and 
sweet  potatoes. 

In  Kavirondo  (ka-ve-ron'do),  northeast  of  Lake  Victoria, 
the  natives  go  naked,  although  they  twist  iron  wire  about 
their  arms,  necks,  and  ankles  as  ornaments.  The  women 
shave  their  heads.  They  have  bracelets  of  ivory  and  neck- 
laces of  shells.  In  Usoga  (oo-so'ga),  the  next  province, 
almost  all  the  people  are  dressed ;  the  women  wear  bark 
petticoats,  and  the  men  have  clothes  of  bark  or  cotton.     In 

another  province 
near  by  the  girls 
wear  a  string  of 
beads  about  the 
waist  until  they 
are  married,  when 
they  put  on  bark- 
cloth  skirts.  On 
the  west  of  the 
lake  some  of  the 
people  wear  clothes 
of  grass  and  skins. 
We  shall  find  new 
"  and  odd  costumes 

"...  little  round  huts  with  conical  roofs  ..."       ^^^  everv  few  miles 

The  villages  of  this  part  of  the  world  are  much  aHke. 
In  Kavirondo  they  are  made  up  of  little  round  huts  with 


'"-^^e^^r 


ABOUT   LAKE  VICTORIA 


141 


conical  roofs  thatched  with  grass  ;  and  in  Usoga  the  or- 
dinary house  makes  one  think  of  a  haycock.  There  the 
villages  are  often  surrounded  with  fences  of  thorn  bushes 
to  keep  out  the  wild  beasts,  and  the  houses  are  built  in  a 
circle  about  an  inclosure  where  the  cattle,  goats,  and  sheep 


"  Ripon  Falls  ...  the  birthplace  of  the  Nile." 

are  kept  at  night.  They  sometimes  sleep  in  the  huts  with 
the  people.  We  see  many  such  animals  near  the  villages 
on  the  banks  of  the  lake. 

In  our  tour  of  the  lake  we  first  make  our  way  to  Napoleon 
Gulf  at  the  north  to  visit  the  Ripon  (rip'un)  Falls,  where 
the  waters  flow  out,  forming  the  birthplace  of  the  Nile.  The 
falls  are  not  more  than  thirteen  feet  deep,  and  the  river 
below  is  about  thirteen  hundred  feet  wide.  Here  we  can 
stand  on  the  high  banks  and  look  down  upon  the  Nile  at  its 


142 


AFRICA 


beginning.  Great  fish  are  leaping  high  into  the  air,  and 
dark-skinned  natives  are  standing  upon  the  rocks  spearing 
them  with  harpoons  as  they  jump.  We  are  surrounded  by 
green  forest  trees,  in  which  odd  birds  sing.  The  rocks 
through  which  the  waters  flow  are  covered  with  white,  the 
guano  of  the  cormorants  and  other  birds  which  make  their 
homes  here. 

We  next  cross  Lake  Victoria  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kagera 
(ka-ga'ra)  River,  the  largest  stream  that  flows  into  it  and 
therefore  said  by  some  to  be  the  real  source  of  the  Nile. 
We  travel  some  distance  up  this  river  through  lands 
inhabited  by  black  people  scantily  dressed  in  skins  and 
aprons  of  grass.  They  are  barefooted  and  bareheaded. 
Some  have  tattooed  breasts  and  arms,  and  others  shave 
their  heads  in  patches  so  as  to  leave  rolls  of  hair  on  parts 
of  the  head.  They  are  excellent  blacksmiths,  and  we  buy 
some  of  their  spears  and  knives  to  take  home  as  trophies. 

Nearer  the  lake  are  more  people  dressed  in  bark  clothing, 
and  at  one  of  our  stops  we  have  an  opportunity  to  see  how 
bark  cloth  is  made.  The  cloth  comes  from  a  stately  tree 
wdth  small  green  leaves,  a  straight  stem,  and  many  branches. 
The  bark  is  taken  off  by  making  two  cuts  around  the  trunk, 
several  feet  apart,  and  then  a  third  cut  down  the  trunk 
between  them.  By  this  means  a  cylinder  of  bark  is  torn 
off  in  one  piece.  The  bark  is  now  soaked  in  water  until 
it  is  soft,  and  then  pounded  flat  on  a  smooth,  wooden  log, 
when  the  rough  outer  coat  comes  off,  leaving  the  soft  inner 
coat,  which  is  almost  as  fine  as  woven  cloth.  The  color  of 
the  bark  is  now  reddish  brown.  It  may  be  used  as  it  is, 
or  dyed,  or  decorated  with  patterns. 

Such  cloth  is  worn  by  both  men  and  women  :  sometimes 


ABOUT   LAKE  VICTORIA  1 43 

in  gowns  which  fall  to  the  feet,  sometimes  in  short  petti- 
coats, and  again  as  skirts  and  cloaks.  The  ladies  of 
Uganda,  it  is  said,  like  the  rustle  of  their  bark-cloth  dresses, 
when  they  are  new  and  stiff,  just  as  our  ladies  like  that  of 
silk  skirts. 

Farther  south  along  Lake  Victoria  in  the  German  pos- 
sessions the  land  is  so  fertile  that  it  may  some  day  be  one 
of  the  granaries  of  Africa.  The  natives  here  are  blacks 
with  negro  features,  and  are  the  more  ugly  from  their 
custom  of  knocking  out  their  front  teeth.  They  have  a 
sultan  and  also  independent  chiefs.  They  dwell  in  villages 
of  round,  thatched  huts  about  five  feet  high  with  conical 
roofs.  Each  roof  extends  out  so  as  to  make  a  kind  of 
porch  about  the  house,  and  there  are  often  partitions  inside 
the  hut  dividing  the  sleeping  and  other  rooms.  Sheep, 
goats,  and  chickens  live  with  the  family,  and  the  rooms  are 
not  very  clean. 

In  some  villages  the  houses  are  built  in  a  circle  at  a 
fixed  distance  apart,  thorn  hedges  connecting  them  in 
such  a  way  that  they  form  an  inclosure  in  which  the  cattle 
and  sheep  are  kept  at  night.  The  people  sleep  with 
wooden  pillows  on  beds  of  skins  or  upon  the  floor. 
They  wear  very  little  clothing,  some  having  only  an  apron 
of  leather.  They  have  necklaces  of  crocodile  teeth  and 
cowrie  shells,  and  anklets  of  brass,  iron,  or  copper ;  some 
wear  wide  bands  of  ivory  hollowed  out  of  elephants'  tusks. 
They  use  shields  and  spears  for  fighting,  and  also  bows 
and  poisoned  arrows. 

Everywhere  we  go  we  see  the  women  working  in  the 
fields,  and  more  seldom  the  men.  In  many  of  the  African 
tribes  the  women  do  all  the  work,  but  in  some,  about  the 


1 44  AFRICA 

lower  shores  of  Lake  Victoria,  the  husband  goes  out  into 
the  field  while  the  wife  cleans  up  the  house  and  cooks 
breakfast.  She  carries  the  breakfast  with  her  to  the  fields, 
and  after  the  meal  has  been  eaten  joins  her  husband 
in  the  work.  A  man  may  have  as  many  wives  as  he  can 
afford  to  buy.  Six  cows  is  considered  a  fair  price  for  a 
girl,  and,  if  the  marriage  is  not  satisfactory,  the  wife  can  go 
back  home,  provided  her  family  return  the  cattle. 

21.     IN    UGANDA 

TRAVELING  northward  across  Lake  Victoria,  we  enter 
the  state  of  Uganda,  and  move  about  from  place  to 
place  exploring  the  country. 

Uganda  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  interesting  of 
the  African  provinces.  It  is  a  beautiful  land  about  twice 
as  large  as  the  State  of  Ohio,  with  grassy  plains,  lofty 
mountains,  and  dark  valleys.  The  best  soil  is  of  a  rich 
red.  There  are  hills  of  fine  pasture,  dense  woods  filled 
with  big  game,  swamps  choked  with  papyrus  reeds,  in 
which  crocodiles  and  hippopotamuses  are  found,  and  other 
regions  where  the  grass  is  ten  feet  in  height.  There 
are  also  vast  stretches  of  meadow  land,  spotted  with  groves 
of  beautiful  trees,  and  dotted  here  and  there  with  villages, 
about  wliich  are  small  gardens  and  farms. 

The  people  of  Uganda  have  a  higher  civilization  than 
any  of  the  other  tribes  of  central  Africa,  with  a  govern- 
ment of  their  own  which  they  manage  under  the  British. 
There  is  a  king  and  a  native  assembly  which  rules  the 
people  through  the  chiefs. 


IN   UGANDA 


145 


The  people  of  Uganda  are  intelligent.  They  have  a 
system  of  numerals  of  their  own  based  upon  decimals. 
They  are  anxious  to  learn,  and  they  welcome  the  Christian 
missionaries  who  are  w^orking  among  them. 

They  are  polite,  neat,  clean,  and  modest.  They  all 
wear  clothing,  either  of  bark  cloth  or  cotton ;  although 
some  of  them  take  their 
clothes  off  when  they 
are  at  work  in  their 
huts.  This  we  suppose 
is  to  keep  the  clothes 
clean.  They  are  hospi- 
table, and  we  have  no 
trouble  in  learning  just 
how  they  live. 

The  huts  of  Uganda 
are  perhaps  the  largest 
and  best  in  all  Africa. 
They  are  much  like  hay- 
stacks in  shape,  rising 
from  the  ground  in  a 
cone.  The  doorway  is 
cut  in  the  side  of  the 
hut,  with  a  bonnetlike 
projection  over  it.  The  houses  are  made  of  a  framework 
of  wood,  covered  with  reeds,  which  is  then  faced  with 
grass  mats  and  laced  with  sticks  or  bark.  The  walls  are 
thick,  and  the  houses  are  comfortable. 

Entering  one  of  these  homes,  we  find  that  the  roof  is 
supported  by  many  poles,  so  arranged  that  they  divide  the 
interior  into  two  apartments,  —  front  and  rear.    In  the  back, 


Entrance  to  Uganda 
hut. 


146 


AFRICA 


the  roof  is  supported  by  many- 
poles,  ..." 


around  the  wall,  are  bunks  in  which  the  family  sleep  at 
night.     About  the  chief  huts  are  sometimes  smaller  ones, 
^  where  the  women 

jr  ,---  '"\  work,  making  wine, 

drying  tobacco,  or 
grinding  flour. 
Some  dwellings 
have  separate  huts 
for  kitchens.  Oth- 
ers are  quite  small, 
the  cooking  being 
done  over  a  fire 
hole  in  the  cen- 
ter. 

The  floor  of  such  a  house  is  the  ground.  It  is  covered 
with  soft  grass,  a  new  carpet  of  this  kind  being  spread 
upon  the  old  when  it  becomes  dirty  or  wet.  Some  families 
let  the  chickens,  goats,  and  sheep  sleep  indoors  at  night, 
and  we  find  that  the  dwellings  are  none  too  clean  after  all. 
These  people  have  but  little  furniture.  The  ordinary 
family  is  satisfied  with  a  few  stools,  a  half-dozen  earthen- 
ware pots,  some  wooden  bowls,  and  basins  made  of  wicker 
or  grass.  The  bark-cloth  clothing  and  other  treasures  are 
tied  to  the  roof,  or  hung  upon  the  poles  which  uphold  it. 
There  may  be  spears,  shields,  and  hoes  standing  against 
the  walls  of  the  hut. 

The  villages  are  usually  situated  in  groves  surrounded 
by  pasture  lands.  The  people  have  fine  cattle,  with  humps 
on  their  backs,  and  also  fat-tailed  sheep  and  goats.  They 
raise  chickens,  and  have  dogs  which  seldom  bark.  Nearly 
every  family  has  a  garden  of  sweet  potatoes  and  other 


IN   UGANDA 


147 


vegetables,  and  some  have  patches  of  grain,  sugar  cane, 
and  coffee. 

We  see  banana  groves  everywhere,  not  only  here  but  in 
the  other  States  of  central  Africa;  and  are  told  that  the 
banana  is  most  valuable  to  the  natives.  It  gives  them 
food  and  drink,  and  they  use  it  for  string,  soap,  timber, 
and  clothing.  The  green  fruit  is  cooked  as  a  vegetable, 
and  when  ripe  it  serves  as  a  dessert.  The  banana  is,  in 
fact,  the  chief  food  of  these  people,  taking  almost  the 
same  place  that  wheat  and  corn  have  with  us.  The  green 
bananas  are  tied  up 
in  banana  leaves 
and  steamed  until 
they  are  well  done ; 
the  flesh  is  then 
floury,  sweet,  and 
palatable,  and  when 
dried  it  may  be 
made  into  flour. 

Banana  leaves 
are  used  to  thatch 
houses ;  they  serve 
as  tablecloths  and 
napkins ;  they  take 
the  place  of  paper; 
they  are  the  covers 
for  milk  and  water 
baskets.  The  stems 
of  the  banana  are 
sometimes  made  in- 
to fences,  and  their 


^^H   Uf^ 

^^HhBh  '("''mi^^^h^SJI^^^^H^^h 

B  M 

§1 

la 

m 

wM 

1 

"We  see  banana  groves  everywhere, 


148  AFRICA 

pith  is  scraped  out  and  used  as  a  sponge.  The  fibers  form 
excellent  cord ;  and  may  be  woven  into  sun  hats  and 
mats. 

There  is  an  intoxicating  drink  made  from  the  banana 
which  might  be  called  banana  brandy;  and  another,  less 
strong,  which  might  pass  as  banana  beer ;  while  a  third 
banana  drink  is  not  intoxicating  at  all.  If  the  native  has 
bananas  in  plenty,  he  thrives ;  if  not,  he  is  likely  to  starve. 

We  have  but  little  trouble  making  our  way  through 
Uganda.  There  are  many  roads,  and  the  people  are  ready 
to  help  us  about.  We  find  them  kind  and  hospitable  and 
far  superior  to  those  whom  we  met  on  our  tour  of  the 
lakes.  The  men  are  skillful  blacksmiths,  and  the  women 
weave  beautiful  mats  and  basket  work,  using  the  leaves  of 
the  wild  date  palm. 

We  are  delighted  with  the  children,  and  now  and  then 
stop  to  have  games  with  them.  The  boys  are  fond  of 
wrestling ;  they  play  ball  and  throw  sticks  in  a  remarkable 
way.  They  learn  to  hurl  spears  and  to  use  shields  to  pro- 
tect themselves,  and  have  many  sham  battles.  Among 
their  duties  is  watching  the  cattle  and  sheep ;  but  their 
happiest  days  are  when  their  fathers  or  brothers  take 
them  out  with  them  to  trap  the  game  for  which  the  coun- 
try is  noted. 

During  our  stay  with  the  British  officers  we  talk  much 
about  the  future  of  central  Africa.  They  point  out  the 
richness  of  the  soil  and  its  value  for  grazing,  telling  us 
that  Uganda  will  some  day  be  one  of  the  chief  cattle- 
raising  countries  of  the  world.  They  describe  how  the 
railroad  now  planned  from  Cairo  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  will  eventually  be  extended  northward  through  this 


ELEPHANTS   AND    IVORY 


149 


On  the  Uganda  railway. 

region  connecting  the  great  lakes  and  the  Nile  with  the 
road  from  Khartum  to  the  Mediterranean.  This  will  give 
a  steam  route  north  and  south  across  Africa,  and  will  make 
many  changes  in  this  far-away  land. 


22.     ELEPHANTS    AND    IVORY 


ELEPHANTS  are  found  in  Asia  and  in  Africa,  but 
the  largest  and  fiercest  come  from  Africa  and  espe- 
cially from  the  region  where  we  are  now  traveling.  The 
African  elephant  differs  from  its  Asiatic  brother  in  that  it 
has  larger  tusks,  a  more  sloping  forehead,  and  wide,  flap- 
ping ears. 

The  elephants  of  Asia  are  sometimes  caught  and  tamed. 
They  are  used  as  beasts  of  burden  and  are  made  to  work 


I50  AFRICA 

in  the  lumber  yards.  In  parts  of  India,  Burmah,  and 
Siam  people  travel  from  place  to  place  upon  them,  and 
the  rajahs  or  princes  ride  them  when  they  go  about  in 
state.  The  African  elephant  seldom  becomes  tame.  It 
lives  in  the  forests  or  on  the  plains  of  the  wilder  regions 
of  the  continent.  It  is  hunted  for  its  ivory  tusks,  and  is 
gradually  being  exterminated  in  those  regions  where  white 
men  are  settling. 

In  some  parts  of  the  African  States,  elephants  are  al- 
most as  great  a  curiosity  as  buffaloes  in  our  country ;  but 
in  other  places,  such  as  the  Kongo  valley,  the  Sudan,  and 
the  highlands  of  central  Africa,  where  we  now  are,  they 
roam  about  in  vast  numbers,  and  we  may  often  stumble 
upon  herds  as  we  go  through  the  forests. 

Elephants  travel  in  company,  parents  and  babies,  old 
and  young,  moving  along  together.  Sometimes  several 
hundred  may  be  seen  marching  from  one  place  to  another, 
the  mother  and  children  going  in  front  while  the  father 
elephants  come  behind,  protecting  the  rear.  The  fathers 
are  larger  and  stronger  than  the  mothers,  and  they  will 
fight  for  their  families.  The  mothers  will  also  fight. 
Elephants  are  fond  of  their  children,  and  it  would  be 
dangerous  indeed  for  us  to  try  to  steal  a  baby  elephant. 
Besides,  it  would  take  more  strength  than  we  have  to  carry 
one  away ;  for  the  ordinary  elephant  baby  weighs  as  much 
as  a  big  fat  man  and  it  grows  fast. 

The  elephant  is  the  largest  beast  known.  There  are 
many  in  Africa  which  weigh  three  or  four  tons,  and  have 
such  big  legs  that  one  might  take  them  for  trees  if  he  were 
looking  along  the  ground  through  the  forest. 

Notwithstanding   their   size,   these    animals   travel  rap- 


ELEPHANTS  AND   IVORY  15I 

idly.  Their  weight  enables  them  to  crush  through  the 
jungles.  They  step  lightly  with  their  huge  feet,  and 
when  traveling  will  go  for  days  at  an  average  speed  of  six 
miles  an  hour.  They  can  swim  rivers  and  climb  up  and 
down  hills,  so  that  it  is  difficult  for  men  to  keep  up  with 
them. 

*  The  head  of  the  elephant  is  the  most  remarkable  part 
of  its  body.  It  is  of  enormous  size,  with  little  eyes,  not 
much  larger  around  than  our  own,  a  long  nose  or  trunk, 
and  tusks  larger  than  those  of  any  other  animal. 

The  elephant's  trunk  is  so  important  to  him  that  he 
could  not  possibly  get  along  without  it.  It  serves  as  both 
hand  and  nose.  If  it  should  be  cut  off  he  would  starve, 
for  his  neck  and  tusks  would  not  allow  him  to  get  his 
mouth  to  the  ground,  and  he  could  not  drink.  The  trunk 
is  as  flexible  as  india  rubber.  It  has  hundreds  of  different 
muscles  running  through  it  in  almost  every  direction,  and 
it  can  be  stretched  or  shortened  at  will.  At  the  end  there 
is  a  kind  of  fingerlike  hp  with  which  the  animal  can  pick 
up  a  blade  of  grass  or  the  smallest  thing  from  the  ground. 
The  lip  is  very  strong,  as  is  the  whole  trunk.  The  beast 
pulls  off  reeds,  branches,  and  herbage  with  his  trunk. 
He  rears  up  on  his  hind  legs  and  tears  down  young  trees, 
or  bends  them  over  into  his  mouth  so  that  he  may  eat  the 
tender  shoots  and  leaves. 

In  drinking,  the  elephant  first  sucks  the  water  into 
his  trunk,  and  then  squirts  it  into  his  mouth.  He  often 
sprays  his  body  in  this  way,  giving  himself  a  shower 
bath  as  it  were.  He  uses  his  trunk  to  feel  with,  rubbing 
it  over  his  baby  to  pet  it.  When  angry  he  throws  the 
trunk  high  into  the  air  and  blows  a  trumpet  blast  through 

CARP.  AFRICA —  lO 


152 


AFRICA 


it,  and  when  attacked    he  sometimes    pounds    his  enemy 
to  death  with  it. 

There  are  two  other  parts  of  the  elephant's  head  which 
are  even  more  interesting.  These  are  the  tusks,  or  great 
hornUke  teeth,  which  grow  out  of  each  side  of  its  mouth. 
Every  elephant  has  two  tusks ;  and  in  addition  six  great 
teeth  within  the  mouth  on  each  side  of  the  jaw,  above  and 
below.  The  tusks  are  fitted  into  bony  sockets,  their 
roots  going  almost  up  to  the  eyes  of  the  elephants. 
They  begin  to  come  when  the  elephants  are  quite  young, 
and  continue  to  grow  as  long  as  they  live.  Some  ele- 
phants live  to  be  a  hundred  years  old,  and  the  older 
ones  have  tusks  more  than  eight  feet  long,  and  so  heavy 
that  it  takes  four  men  to  carry  one  across  the  country. 


Carrying  ivory  to  the  coast. 

The  tusks  are  a  valuable  article  of  commerce,  and 
are  among  the  things  which  Africa  exports  to  all  parts 
of  the  world.  Ivory  is  worth  so  much  that  ships  are 
sent    to   Africa    for    it.      Men    hunt    the    elephants   and 


ELEPHANTS   AND   IVORY 


153 


carry  the  tusks  for  hundreds  of  miles  through  the  forests 
to  get  money  for  them.  Much  of  this  work  is  done  by 
slaves,  the  Arabs  and 
other  strong  races  forc- 
ing them  to  carry  the 
ivory.  Sometimes  slaves 
are  exchanged  for  ivory, 
and  in  times  past  the 
slaves  were  made  to 
carry  the  tusks  to  the 
seashore,  where  both 
slaves  and  ivory  were 
sold. 

Elephants'  tusks  are 
of  different  sizes,  ac- 
cording to  the  age  of 
the  animal.  A  large 
one  may  weigh  two 
hundred  pounds  and  be 
worth  hundreds  of  dol- 
lars. Such  is  the  tusk 
shown  in  the  picture. 
A  small  tusk  may  not 
be  so  long  as  one's  arm. 
So  much  ivory  is  needed  that  more  than  fifty  thousand 
elephants  are  annually  killed  and  their  tusks  shipped  to 
Europe,  most  of  them  coming  from  the  valley  of  the 
Kongo. 

The  ivory  of  commerce  comes  not  only  from  elephants 
thus  killed,  but  also  from  those  which  have  died  genera- 
tions ago.     Many  elephants  die  natural  deaths  in  the  for- 


A  large  one  may  weigh  two  hundred 
pounds  ..." 


1 54  AFRICA 

est  wilds ;  some  are  killed  by  lions  and  other  wild  beasts. 
The  skeletons  are  found  by  ivory  hunters,  and  their  tusks 
taken  out  and  carried  to  the  market.  The  native  kings 
often  have  ivory  stored  away  in  their  villages,  and  it  is 
said  that  some  have  fences  of  tusks  about  their  huts. 
They  know  that  ivory  is  valuable,  and  save  it  as  we  save 
money.  All  such  ivory  is  old,  and  not  so  valuable  as 
the  fresh  ivory.  It  is  known  in  the  markets  as  dead 
ivory,  while  that  which  comes  from  the  freshly  killed 
beasts  is  live  ivory. 

We  shall  have  many  invitations  during  our  travels  to 
go  elephant  hunting,  but  the  sport  is  so  dangerous  that 
we  shall  hardly  accept.  The  natives  say  it  is  more 
dangerous  to  hunt  elephants  than  lions.  The  elephant 
is  revengeful,  and,  if  attacked,  will  run  after  his  enemies 
and  try  to  kill  them.  If  he  can  get  the  hunters  within 
range  of  his  trunk,  he  will  knock  them  down  with  it 
and  crush  them  to  death  with  his  tusks,  or  stamp  upon 
them  with  his  huge  feet. 

The  elephant  has  such  a  thick  skin  that  heavy  guns 
with  large  bullets  are  needed,  and  even  then  there  are 
only  a  few  places  where  a  shot  will  prove  fatal.  If  one 
can  hit  him  just  over  the  eye  or  back  of  the  ears,  or 
halfway  between  the  ear  and  the  eye,  there  is  a  fair 
chance  of  killing  him ;  there  is  also  a  place  near  the  tail 
where  a  bullet  may  pass  along  the  spine  into  the  lungs, 
causing  the  animal  to  bleed  to  death.  In  such  hunting 
the  men  must  be  wary,  for  the  moment  the  elephant  sees 
them  he  throws  his  trunk  into  the  air,  screams,  hisses, 
snorts,  and  rushes  at  them.  His  brother  elephants  join 
him,  and  often  the  hunters  are  killed. 


ELEPHANTS   AND   IVORY 


155 


Notwithstanding  this,  the  natives  manage  to  destroy 
many  elephants.  They  sneak  up  behind  one  of  the 
great  beasts,  and  with  a  stroke  of  the  sword  so  cut  the 
tendons  and  arteries  of  his  hind  foot  that  he  is  lamed 
and  bleeds  to  death.  They  arrange  a  snare,  so  that 
when  an  elephant  stumbles  upon  it  a  heavy  weight  with  a 
barbed  spear  fastened  to  it  falls  down 
upon  his  back.  The  spear  is  sharp, 
and  if  its  blade  enters  the  elephant's 
lungs,  it  causes  death. 

After  an  elephant  is  killed,  the 
tusks  are  chopped  out  with  axes  and 
the  flesh  is  cut  from  the  bones  for 
food.  The  natives  are  fond  of  the 
meat,  and  they  eat  every  part  of  the 
animal  except  the  skin  and  bones. 
They  make  elephant  soup,  steaks,  and 
roasts,  and  preserve  some  of  the  flesh 
by  smoking  it  as  we  smoke  beef. 

The  tidbits  of  the  elephant  are  the 
feet  and  trunk.  These  are  roasted  in 
a  peculiar  way.  A  hole  is  dug  in  the 
ground  and  a  fire  built  in  it.  When 
the  earth  has  become  thoroughly  hot, 
all  but  the  glowing  coals  are  taken  away,  and  the  foot  or 
trunk  is  laid  upon  them.  Sticks  are  then  placed  over  the 
top  of  the  hole,  closing  it  tight.  After  several  hours  this 
curious  oven  is  opened  and  the  roast  taken  out,  the  skin  is 
removed,  and  the  meat  is  ready  for  eating.  The  foot  thus 
prepared  is  so  tender  that  it  can  be  scraped  out  with  a 
spoon,  and  many  think  it  delicious. 


Elephant  spear. 


1 56  AFRICA 


23.     THE   STRANGE  ANIMALS    OF  AFRICA 

AFRICA  is  the  continent  of  big  game.  It  has  the 
largest  beasts  and  the  most  dangerous.  It  has  many 
strange  animals  not  found  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 
There  are  vast  territories  which  are  still  wild,  and  we 
shall  be  meeting  odd  creatures  everywhere  during  our 
travels. 

We  shall  see  more  hippopotamuses  and  rhinoceroses  as 
we  go  on  southward  or  in  our  travels  through  the  Kongo 
valley.  The  hippopotamus  is  found  in  many  parts  of 
Africa.  It  lives  in  the  swamps  or  along  the  lakes  and 
rivers,  eating  the  grass  and  plants  which  grow  in  and  near 
the  water.  These  beasts  always  travel  in  herds ;  they  are 
fond  of  one  another,  and  now  and  then  a  mother  hippo- 
potamus may  be  seen  swimming  a  stream  with  her  baby 
standing  upon  her  back. 

The  hippopotamus  is  not  so  large  as  the  elephant,  but  it 
is  an  enormous  beast  nevertheless.  It  has  a  big  head  and 
a  short,  thick  neck,  with  small  eyes,  and  ears  so  high  up  in 
the  head  that  they  remain  outside  the  water  when  the  rest 
of  the  animal  is  almost  hidden  beneath  it.  It  has  twelve 
tusks  in  the  form  of  teeth,  strong  enough  to  bite  through 
a  small  tree,  and  so  placed  that  they  cut  grass  or  corn 
almost  as  if  with  a  scythe.  It  has  twenty-four  other  teeth, 
which  it  uses  to  grind  its  food.  The  tusks  are  valuable  as 
ivory,  and  the  animal  is  killed  for  them  and  also  for  its 
thick  skin  and  flesh. 

The  natives  like  hippopotamus  meat,  and  they  consider 
the  fat  which  lies  under  the  skin    of    the    back    a   great 


THE   STRANGE   ANIMALS   OF  AFRICA 


157 


delicacy.     They  are  fond  of  the  tongue,  and  make  a  jelly 
of  the  feet.     They  also  render  out  the  fat  for  medicine. 

Hippopotamuses  are  wary,  and  it  is  difficult  to  kill  them. 
Their  skins  are  so  thick  that  large  guns  must  be  used. 
The  best  place  for  a  shot  is  just  below  the  eye  or  back  of 
the  head  between  the  ears. 


Hippopotamus. 

The  hippopotamus  swims  with  the  greater  part  of  its 
body  under  water,  and  it  often  lies  in  the  water,  showing 
only  its  ears  and  nose.  When  alarmed,  it  dives,  and  may 
not  come  up  for  a  long  time.  The  natives  hunt  it  with 
canoes,  using  harpoons  to  w^hich  large,  wooden  floats  are 
attached.  If  the  animal  is  killed,  the  floats  show  where 
it  lies.  Such  hunting  is  dangerous,  for  the  beasts  will 
fight  if  attacked.  They  can  not  see  far,  however,  and  for 
that  reason  are  easier  to  kill  than  elephants. 


158  AFRICA 

The  rhinoceros  is  also  dangerous.  It  is  about  as  large 
as  the  hippopotamus  and  of  somewhat  the  same  shape. 
It  has  one  or  two  great  horns  growing  out  of  its  nose, 
with  which  it  can  impale  a  man  or  even  a    horse.     The 


Rhinoceros. 

word  "rhinoceros"  means  "nose-horned,"  and  it  is  about 
the  only  animal  which  has  a  horn  growing  from  the  top  of 
its  nose.  These  horns  are  of  different  lengths,  according 
to  the  species,  some  being  short  and  others  three  or  four 
feet  in  length.  The  animal  uses  the  horn  not  only  for  de- 
fense, but  also  to  dig  up  the  bushes,  small  trees,  and  roots 
upon  which  it  feeds.  It  has  a  lip  somewhat  Hke  that  of 
the  elephant's  trunk,  with  which  it  can  pick  up  small 
objects. 

The  skin  upon  the  back  and  sides  of  the  rhinoceros  is 
twice  as  thick  as  this  book,  although  it  is  less  thick  over 
the  abdomen.  It  makes  excellent  whips  and  is  so  used  by 
the  natives.     They  cut  the  skin  into  long,  narrow  strips,  one 


THE   STRANGE  ANIMALS   OF  AFRICA 


159 


end  of  which  they  tie  to  the  branch  of  a  tree.  A  heavy 
stone  is  fastened  to  the  lower  end  of  each  strip  to  keep  it 
stretched.  After  it  has  dried  hard  it  is  scraped  round  and 
smoothed  off  with  sand  or  stone. 

The  rhinoceros,  like  the  hippopotamus  and  the  elephant, 
has  an  enormous  head,  a  short  and  thick  neck,  and  huge 
feet.  The  foot  of  the  elephant  is  the  largest.  The  rhi- 
noceros has  three  toes  on  each  foot,  the  hippopotamus  four, 
and  the  elephant  five.  All  three  animals  are  difficult  to 
kill.  All  are  exceedingly  heavy,  as  we  should  surely  know 
if  one  trod  upon  us. 

Although  the  lion  is  called  the  king  of  the  desert,  we 
saw  none  during  our  travels  in  the  Sahara.     But  few  lions 


Lion. 

are  found  in  the  desert  except  near  the  oases  or  along  the 
edges.  The  true  home  of  this  beast  is  on  the  high  pasture 
lands  and  other  fertile  parts  of  the  country.  Lions  live 
upon  deer,  antelope,  and  other  game,  and  such  game  is 
found  only  where  there  is  good  pasture  or  woods.     There 


i6o 


AFRICA 


are  many  lions  in  Abyssinia,  in  Uganda,  and  in  different 
parts  of  central  and  southern  Africa.  They  are  hunted  by 
both  whites  and  natives,  although  every  one  is  afraid  of 
them.  The  natives  sometimes  catch  lions  in  traps,  which 
they  bait  with  live  goats  or  sheep ;  they  also  make  pits 
with  sharp  stakes  at  the  bottom  upon  which  the  lion  falls 
and  is  killed. 

In  addition  to  these  dangerous  animals,  Africa  has  many 
less  harmful,  and  some  not  dangerous  at  all.      It  might  be 


"The  wildebeest  has  the  tail  and  mane  of  a  horse,  ..." 

called  the  home  of  the  antelope  and  the  gazelle.  It  has 
many  varieties  of  antelopes,  and  some  which  seem  to  be  half 
deer  and  half  horse.  The  wildebeest  has  the  tail  and  mane 
of  a  horse,  and  horns  of  an  ox,  while  upon  its  chin  is  a 
shaggy  tuft  of  beard  like  a  goat.  The  eland  and  the  koodoo 
are  antelopes  found  in  southern  Africa.     The  steinbok  ante- 


THE   STRANGE  ANIMALS   OF    AFRICA 


i6i 


's^^^Am 


lope,  which  enjoys  a  wide    range,   has   a    short  tail,  and 

the    pah    antelope   is    not    much    larger    than    a    rabbit. 

Gazelles    are   small, 

deerlike   animals 

with    horns ;      they 

are    very    beautiful 

and    graceful. 

We  have  all  heard 
of  the  giraffe,  and 
find  it  interesting  to 
study  it  in  its  home. 
The  largest  giraffe 
is  so  tall  that  it  could 
stand  upon  the 
ground  and  look 
down  into  the  chim- 
neys of  an  ordinary 
cottage.  It  has  a 
neck  so  long  that  it 
can  easily  pick  the 
leaves  of  trees,  which 
form  its  principal 
food  ;  and  its  tongue 
is  so  long  and  strong  Giraffes. 

that  it  can  wrap  it  around  the  leaves  to  pull  them  off. 
Giraffes  are  usually  of  a  light  fawn  color,  with  dark  spots 
somewhat  like  a  leopard.  They  are  often  called  camelo- 
pards,  because  they  look  like  a  combination  of  camel  and 
leopard. 

The  giraffe  runs  like  a  camel,  and  it  can  go  so  fast  that 
it  is  not  easily  captured.     It  has  hoofs,  and  if  attacked  in 


1 62  AFRICA 

the  woods  it  will  jump  upon  its  enemy  with  its  fore  feet. 
It  is  found  in  different  parts  of  Africa,  and  especially 
along  the  desert.  The  Arabs  hunt  it  for  its  skin,  out  of 
which  they  make  shields.  They  also  use  its  sinews  for 
thread  and  string. 

In  this  region  where  we  now  are  there  are  many  zebras, 
and  we  often  think  it  would  be  fine  if  we  could  tame  these 
wild  striped  ponies  and  take  them  back  to  our  homes. 
We  saw  great  herds  of  them  in  the  wilder  parts  of  Abys- 
sinia, and  they  are  also  to  be  found  in  the  mountains  of 
British  East  Africa.  They  go  galloping  over  the  hills, 
their  striped  coats  shining  in  the  light  of  the  tropical 
sun.  Now  and  then  we  hear  one  call  out  to  his  fellows. 
His  cry  is  not  like  the  neigh  of  the  horse,  nor  the  bray  of 
the  donkey,  but  a  shrill  yap  !  yap  !  yap  !  We  learn  that 
the  natives  kill  zebras  for  their  meat  and  tan  their  hides 
for  mats  and  leather. 

In  addition  to  the  animals  which  we  have  seen,  Africa 
has  many  monkeys,  gorillas,  leopards,  hyenas,  and  other 
wild  beasts.  It  has  buffaloes  and  wild  hogs,  and  also  odd 
reptiles,  birds,  and  strange  insects. 

24.    IN  THE  SUDAN 

OUR  next  travels  are  to  be  in  the  Sudan,  that  vast 
strip  of  country  between  the  Sahara  and  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  clear  across 
the  continent  to  the  highlands  of  Abyssinia. 

The  Sudan  is  geographically  divided  into  three  parts: 
the  Egyptian  Sudan,  containing  the  basin  of  the  upper  Nile, 


IN  THE  SUDAN 


163 


Northwestern  Africa. 


which  we  have  already  seen  ;  the  central  Sudan,  including 
Lake  Tchad;  and  the  western  Sudan,  comprising  the 
basins  of  the  Senegal  (sen-e-gal'),  Niger  (ni'jer),  and  other 
rivers  which  flow  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  country 
is  politically  divided  amongst  the  French,  German,  and 
British,  who  have  taken  possession  of  it  on  the  ground 
of  exploration,  or  through  their  treaties  with  the  natives. 
It  is  also  otherwise  divided  according  to  its  native  tribes. 

This  territory  is  so  large  that  we  can  explore  only  the 
principal  parts  of  it.     The  distance  across  it  from  east  to 


1 64  AFRICA 

west  is  greater  than  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  and 
its  width  from  north  to  south  is  greater  than  the  distance 
from  Chicago  to  New  Orleans.  The  different  parts  of  the 
country  vary  in  character.  In  the  north,  beginning  with 
the  semi-arid  regions  which  border  the  Sahara,  it  has  high, 
fertile  plains  dotted  with  magnificent  trees.  Here  the 
climate  is  good,  and  the  people  are  somewhat  civilized. 

Farther  south  there  is  a  dense  belt  of  forest,  and  along 
the  coast  the  land  is  swampy.  The  lower  part  of  it  con- 
tains hundreds  of  streams,  and  water  ways  form  the  chief 
means  of  moving  from  one  place  to  another.  This  region 
is  unhealthful  for  foreigners,  fevers  are  common,  and  so 
many  Europeans  and  Americans  have  died  here  that 
the  land  has  been  called  **The  White  Man's  Grave." 
Nevertheless  it  is  the  home  of  many  thousand  natives.  Its 
people  are  almost  savage,  some  of  the  tribes  going  naked 
and  some  having  human  sacrifices. 

Why  is  this  country  called  the  Sudan  ?  Words  always 
mean  something,  and  there  must  be  a  reason  for  the  name. 
The  word  "  Sudan  "  means  **  black,"  and  the  Sudan  is  the 
land  of  the  blacks.  It  is  the  true  home  of  the  negro,  and 
parts  of  it  are  inhabited  by  many  millions  belonging  to  that 
race. 

We  have  already  seen  that  there  are  other  races  than  the 
negro  in  Africa.  The  continent  has  four  principal  races 
and  many  subordinate  ones,  made  by  the  principal  ones 
mixing  together.  Most  of  the  northern  natives  are  the 
descendants  of  the  white  type  of  mankind,  while  those  of 
the  southern  Sudan  and  southern  Africa  are  of  two  races 
of  the  black  type.  The  northern  Africans  of  various  tribes 
are  the  descendants  of   the    Semitic  and    Hamitic  races. 


IN  THE  SUDAN 


165 


They  are  much  Hke  us,  having  similar  features  and  some- 
times, as  we  saw  in  the  Atlas  Mountains,  skins  almost  as 
white  as  our  own. 

The  black  races  are  the  negroes,  who  are  found  in  their 
purest  state  in  the  southern  Sudan  along  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea  (gin'e),  and  also  the  Bushmen  and  Hottentots, 
who  live  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  continent. 
These  black  races  have 
somewhat  similar  fea- 
tures ;  they  have  woolly 
hair,  thick  lips,  and  flat 
noses ;  but  the  Hotten- 
tots and  Bushmen  have 
lighter  skins  and  more 
prominent  cheekbones 
than  the   pure  negroes. 

In  addition  to  these 
races  there  are  many 
others  formed  by  the 
different    races    mixing 


Negro. 


together.  Africa  has  thousands  of  independent  tribes 
which  have  always  been  warring  upon  one  another.  Cap- 
tives taken  in  battle  have  become  slaves,  and  slaves  have 
been  carried  from  country  to  country  and  sold.  They 
have  sometimes  intermarried  with  their  captors,  so  that  in 
places  it  is  almost  impossible  to  tell  where  one  race  ends 
and  another  begins. 

The  people  are  sometimes  classed  according  to  the 
language  they  speak.  There  are  many  different  languages 
used  in  the  different  parts  of  Africa.     In  the  Kongo  basin 


1 66  AFRICA 

and  in  the  southern  half  of  the  continent  there  are  tribes 
which  speak  the  Bantu  language,  and  for  this  reason  they 
are  referred  to  by  the  common  name  of  Bantus.  We  shall 
hear  this  name  as  we  go  on  with  our  travels. 

Our  first  journey  through  the  Sudan  shall  be  to  the 
high  plains,  where  we  may,  perhaps,  meet  some  of  the  old 
friends  with  whom  we  traveled  in  the  Sahara.  Caravans 
are  always  moving  across  the  sands  from  the  Mediter- 
ranean to  these  plains,  carrying  goods.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  caravan  routes,  and  great  market  towns  to  which  the 
caravans  come.  The  most  important  of  these  are  Tim- 
buktu, in  the  French  Sudan,  Kano  (ka-no'),  in  northern 
Nigeria,  and  Kuka  (koo'ka),  on  Lake  Tchad,  the  two 
latter  towns  being  in  the  British  Sudan.  These  places 
are  at  wide  distances  apart,  but  they  are  all  on  the  high- 
lands not  far  from  the  Sahara,  and  their  people  have  been 
trading  for  many  centuries  with  the  more  civilized  people 
of  the  north. 

The  chief  trade  routes  of  the  northern  Sudan  run  east 
and  west,  on  account  of  the  dense  forests  which  lie  farther 
south.  They  are  little  more  than  paths  through  the  coun- 
try, and  we  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  our  slow  marches 
from  place  to  place. 

25.    ABOUT    KUKA   AND    LAKE   TCHAD 

WE  have  sailed  down  the  Nile  from  Uganda  for  some 
distance,  and  thence  crossed  the  vast  expanse  of 
country  between  that  river  and  Lake  Tchad  to  Kuka,  the 
capital  of  Bornu  (bor-noo'),  on  the  western  side  of  the  lake. 
We  have  met  many  caravans  on  our  way,  and  as  we  near 


ABOUT  KUKA  AND    LAKE  TCHAD  1 67 

Kuka  we  see  long  strings  of  camels  going  in  and  coming 
out  of  its  gates.  The  tail  of  each  camel  is  tied  by  a  string 
to  the  nose  of  the  one  behind  it,  so  that  if  one  wishes  to 
pass  he  has  to  wait  until  the  whole  caravan  has  gone  by. 
The  caravans  coming  in  have  just  arrived  from  the  desert, 
and  those  going  out  are  on  their  way  north  through  the 
different  oases  to  the  Mediterranean. 

Now  we  have  passed  through  the  gate  and  are  in  Kuka. 
What  an  odd  city  !  We  can 'see  a  great  part  of  the  town 
as  we  sit  on  our  camels.  It  is  composed  of  thousands  of 
thatched  huts,  with  here  and  there  a  one  or  two  story 
building.  The  city  has  two  sections,  each  surrounded  by 
a  white  clay  wall.  In  one  live  the  king,  his  nobles,  and 
some  of  the  army ;  and  in  the  other  the  Arab  merchants 
and  the  common  people.  Between  the  two  lies  the  market, 
thronged  with  donkeys  and  camels,  horses  and  mules, 
and  the  thousands  of 'odd  characters  which  make  up  the 
city.  There  are  native  soldiers  moving  about.  Some  are 
armed  with  lances,  spears,  and  swords,  and  others  with 
guns.  We  learn  that  the  king  of  Bornu  is  powerful,  and 
that  he  has  many  men  in  his  army. 

Bornu  has  for  ages  been  noted  as  one  of  the  chief  king- 
doms of  Africa,  and  it  has  a  written  history  which  can  be 
traced  back  a  thousand  years.  It  was  once  the  center  of 
a  great  empire,  and  its  people  grew  rich  through  their 
wars  and  by  trading.  Their  wealth  spoiled  them,  and  they 
neglected  to  keep  up  their  army,  and  were  afterward 
destroyed.  Since  then  other  empires  have  risen  and 
fallen,  and  even  to-day  the  country  is  great.  It  has  a  ter- 
ritory a  little  larger  than  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  its 
population  is  supposed  to  number  several  millions. 


<t^- 


1 68  AFRICA 

The  people  are  mostly  Mohammedans.  They  are  great 
traders,  dealing  largely  in  slaves,  whom  they  buy  or  cap- 
ture from  the  neighboring  tribes  and  send  across  the 
Sahara.  They  hunt  elephants  and  ostriches,  exchanging 
the  feathers  and  ivory  for  European  goods,  which  they 
in  turn  send  farther  south  to  sell. 

Many  of  the  natives  are  farmers.  The  country  has  a 
fertile  soil.  We  have  already  passed  by  httle  plantations 
of  cotton,  wheat,  millet,  and 'other  grains  on  our  way  here; 
there  are  also  groves  of  bananas  and  delicious  fruits. 
They  have  excellent  horses,  and  we  have  no  trouble  in 
hiring  saddle  animals  for  a  trip  about  the  country. 

We  take  rides  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Tchad,  keeping 
well  out  of  the  way  of  the  hippopotamuses,  which  are  to 
be  seen  here  and  there  with  their  noses  just  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  or  wading  about  in  the  shallows  near 
the  shore.  Now  and  then  we  take  a  ride  in  one  of  the  na- 
tive boats.  The  lake  is  by  no  means  so  beautiful  nor  so 
large  as  Lake  Victoria,  although  it  is  one  of  the  largest 
lakes  of  the  world.  It  varies  in  size  with  the  seasons. 
During  the  floods  it  becomes  an  enormous  lagoon,  almost 
as  big  as  Lake  Huron  ;  while  in  dry  times  it  is  as  small 
as  Lake  Erie  and  looks  more  like  a  swamp  than  a  lake. 

Leaving  Kuka,  we  travel  westward  through  Bornu  to 
Kano,  making  our  way  with  a  party  of  traders  from  one 
place  to  another.  We  have  to  go  slowly,  marching  along 
in  single  file,  for  the  roads  are  mere  paths  leading  from 
village  to  village.  It  takes  quite  a  little  army  to  carry 
our  baggage.  We  have  bales  of  cloths  and  bushels 
of  cowrie  shells  with  which  to  pay  our  expenses.  In 
the    past    many    traders    had     their    money    in    slaves. 


ABOUT    KUKA   AND   LAKE  TCHAD 


169 


making  each  slave  carry  a  load  of  goods  on  his  head  and 
selling  both  slave  and  goods  at  the  villages  on  the  way. 
A  good  slave  was  worth  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
cowries,  and  slaves  have  long  been  a  common  currency  in 
this  part  of  Africa. 


"  It  takes  quite  a  little  army  to  carry  our  baggage." 

We  do  not  believe  in  slave  trading,  and  therefore  carry 
cloths  and  cowrie  shells  instead.  Silver  and  gold  coins  are 
not  known  ;  and  the  only  money  used  for  small  change  is 
these  little  shells,  which  are  brought  by  the  ship  load  to 
Africa  from  different  parts  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  Each 
sheM  is  about  as  big  as  a  lima  bean,  and  its  value  in  some 
places  is  so  small  that  it  takes  forty  to  be  worth  one 
of  our  cents,  and  five  dollars'  worth  would  fill  a  bushel 
basket.  Such  an  amount  of  shells  would  be  a  load  for 
two  men,  and  if  all  our  money  were  carried  that  way,  we 

CARP.  AFRICA —  II 


1 70  AFRICA 

should  not  have  enough  to  pay  the  wages  of  the  porters 
by  the  time  we  reached  Kano.  Therefore  we  use  cloth, 
one  bale  of  which  is  worth  many  thousand  shells.  We 
cut  off  a  yard  or  so  at  each  village,  and  trade  it  for  shells 
with  which  to  buy  what  we  want. 

We  also  do  much  trading  by  barter,  exchanging  what 
we  have  for  the  goods  of  the  natives.  This  way  of  doing 
business  seems  odd.  If  we  ask  a  man  who  has  a  sheep 
for  sale  what  it  is  worth,  he  may  reply  three  yards  of  black 
stuff,  or  six  yards  of  white  stuff,  or  perhaps  fifty  glass 
beads,  or  so  many  bars  of  salt,  according  to  what  we  have 
to  offer.  Most  things  aYe  exchanged  in  this  way  ;  and  the 
people  are  so  like  children  that  a  mechanical  toy  or  a  doll 
which  cries  would  easily  buy  several  parrots  or  monkeys. 
We  regret  we  have  not  toys  to  take  the  place  of  the  mass 
of  cowrie  shells  we  are  carrying. 

We  move  along  carefully,  stopping  at  the  villages  every 
night,  and  going  nowhere  alone  after  dark  for  fear  of 
lions,  leopards,  and  other  wild  beasts.  We  keep  together 
on  the  march,  lest  we  be  captured  by  the  slave  traders,  and 
carried  off  to  the  wilder  parts  of  the  country,  and  sold. 

Every  now  and  then  we  see  strange  birds  of  beautiful 
plumage,  and  butterflies  and  moths  more  gorgeous  than 
any  found  in  our  land.  There  are  frogs  in  the  swamps 
and  tortoises  and  crocodiles  in  the  rivers.  We  are  told 
to  look  out  for  snakes,  and  especially  for  the  little  puff 
adder,  whose  bite  is  death. 

The  insects  of  Africa  are  quite  as  dangerous  as  the  wild 
beasts.  We  examine  our  toes  every  night  to  know 
whether  we  have  been  bitten  by  the  jigger,  a  little  insect 
which   burrows   under  one's  toe  nails  and   there  lays  its 


ABOUT  KUKA  AND  LAKE  TCHAD 


17! 


eggs.  This  is  done  so  gently  that  one  does  not  know  it 
until  his  toe  begins  to  itch,  and  then,  upon  looking,  a 
black  spot  is  seen  just  under  the  nail.  This  contains  the 
eggs  in  a  little  sack  which  may  be  taken  out  with  a 
needle.  If  it  is  left  and  the  eggs  hatch,  the  insects  create 
a  festering  sore  which  often  causes  the  loss  of  a  toe. 


Crocodile. 


Among  the  most  interesting  African  insects  are  the 
ants,  which  are  to  be  found  in  almost  all  parts  of  the 
continent.  As  we  travel  about  we  often  go  by  mounds 
thirty  or  forty  feet  thick  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
high.  Each  mound  is  an  ant-hill,  the  home  of  thousands 
of  ants.  It  is  a  network  of  tunnels,  galleries,  and  cham- 
bers, arranged  in  stories,  some  of  which  are  far  below  the 
level  of  the  ground.  It  might  be  called  an  ant  apartment 
house. 


1/2 


AFRICA 


The  ants  have  a  queen 
who  is  waited  upon  by 
the  workers  away  down 
in  the  basement  of  such 
a  house.  The  queen  lays 
all  the  eggs  of  the  col- 
ony, and  her  subjects 
take  them  as  they  are 
laid  and  carry  them 
off  to  the  nurseries  to 
hatch  them.  In  some 
colonies  there  are  soldier 
ants  which  guard  the 
queen ;  and  the  work- 
ing ants  labor  under  the 
soldiers. 

Among  the  most  de- 
structive of  these  insects 
are  the  white  ants.  We  soon  learn  about  them  ;  for  they 
have  got  into  our  baggage  and  eaten  our  lead  pencils,  the 
corks  from  our  bottles,  and  all  other  things  made  of  wood. 
White  ants  will  eat  almost  anything  except  iron  or  very 
hard  wood.  They  eat  tables  and  chairs.  A  man  with  a 
wooden  leg  would  not  dare  to  sleep  in  certain  parts  of 
Africa  for  fear  of  finding  his  leg  a  heap  of  sawdust  in  the 
morning.  These  ants  burrow  into  the  wood  of  houses. 
They  work  in  the  dark,  and  eat  inside  the  posts  and  pil- 
lars until  nothing  is  left  of  them  but  mere  shells,  which 
finally  give  way  and  the  whole  house  falls. 

In  going  through  the  woods  we  are  surprised  to  see  but 
few  dead  trees  upon  the  ground  and  very  few  branches. 


It  might  be  called  an  ant  apartnnent 
house." 


ABOUT  KUKA  AND  LAKE  TCHAD 


73 


We  often  pick  up  a  stick  to  use  as  a  cane  and  find  that  it 
breaks  to  pieces  in  our  hands.  The  ants  have  eaten  out 
the  inside  of  the  stick  and  left  only  the  shell.  They  have 
eaten  the  dead  trees  and  the  shells  have  crumbled  to  dust. 
Such  ants  are  bad  enough,  but  there  are  others  much 
worse.     There  are  some  whose    bites    sting    like    red-hot 


Ant  village. 

needles  and  others  so  ferocious  that  we  can  pull  their 
bodies  apart  but  their  jaws  still  stick  in  our  flesh.  We  are 
warned  against  the  terrible  driver  or  soldier  ant,  and  give 
him  a  wide  berth.  This  ant  does  not  weigh  as  much  as 
the  smallest  pea,  but  lions,  leopards,  and  even  elephants 
rush  to  get  out  of  its  way.  The  driver  ants  move  in  vast 
numbers,  in  regular  order,  from  place  to  place,  looking  like 


1/4  AFRICA 

a  strip  of  black  ribbon  as  they  cross  one's  path.  If  they 
meet  anything  living,  they  throw  themselves  upon  it  and 
bite  it  to  death.  They  tear  the  flesh  bit  by  bit  from  the 
bones,  and  in  a  short  time  reduce  it  to  a  skeleton.  When 
they  attack  a  hut,  not  only  the  people,  but  even  the  rats, 
mice,  and  insects  run  out,  for  nothing  living  is  willing  to 
fight  the  terrible  driver.  If  they  get  upon  us,  the  best 
thing  to  do  will  be  to  rush  for  the  nearest  stream  and 
dive  in.  The  ants  do  not  like  water,  and  they  will  let 
go  when  it  touches  them. 


3XKC 


26.     IN    THE    LAND    OF   THE    HAUSAS 

WE  are  now  traveling  in  northern  Nigeria,  through  the 
lands  of  the  Hausas  (hou'sas).  Nigeria  is  a  vast 
country  belonging  to  Great  Britain,  comprising  a  large 
part  of  the  basin  of  the  river  Niger.  It  is  several  hun- 
dred miles  wqde,  and  extends  from  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  to 
the  Sahara.  It  has  all  together  about  twenty-five  million 
inhabitants,  of  whom  more  than  fifteen  millions  speak  the 
Hausa  language. 

*'  But  who  are  the  Hausas  ?  "  we  ask. 

They  are  black  people  who  for  ages  have  been  among 
the  most  civilized  and  most  powerful  of  the  Africans. 
They  have  a  tradition  that  their  ancestors  came  from 
Arabia  to  the  Sudan  many  hundred  years  ago,  and  settled 
some  distance  north  of  where  the  city  of  Kano  is  now. 
They  founded  Kano  more  than  five  hundred  years  before 
Columbus  started  on  his  voyage  of  discovery,  and  built  up 
here  a  great  empire,  which  was  half  as  large  as  the  conti- 


IN  THE   LAND   OF  THE   HAUSAS 


175 


nent  of  Europe.  Later  on  their  empire  was  broken  up 
into  small  kingdoms,  and  to-day  the  same  country  is  com- 
posed of  many  kingdoms,  some  of  the  rulers  paying  tribute 
to  the  kings  of  Sokoto  or  Gando. 

We  stop  at  Hausa  villages  on  our  way  to  Kano.  The 
people  are  as  black  as  any  we  have  seen ;  but  their  Hps 
are  not  so  thick  as  those 
of  the  negroes.  They 
are  a  mixture  of  the 
Hamitic  branch  of  the 
white  race  and  the  ne- 
gro, and  are  far  more  in- 
telligent and  of  a  higher 
degree  of  civilization 
than  the  pure  negroes 
of  the  coast. 

The  Hausas  dress  be- 
comingly. Both  men 
and  women  wear  clothes 
of  native  cotton,  dyed 
blue     or     scarlet,     and  ^^'^^  ^*"^^  "^^^^^• 

sometimes  embroidered  in  beautiful  patterns.  The  ordi- 
nary costume  is  a  loose  gown  which  has  wide  flaps  covering 
the  arms  and  a  pair  of  baggy  trousers  below  it.  There  is 
a  great  pocket  at  the  front  of  the  gown,  in  which  all  sorts 
of  things  are  carried ;  and  as  many  of  the  Hausas  are 
somewhat  light-fingered,  we  have  to  watch  them,  while 
they  call  upon  us,  that  our  valuables  may  not  find  their 
way  into  one  of  these  pockets. 

The  Hausas  wear  enormous  hats ;  they  have  boots  and 
shoes,  but  they  seldom  use  them  except  when  in  town. 


I J^  AFRICA 

The  children  go  scantily  clad,  and  babies  are  often  naked. 
The  little  ones  are  carried  by  their  mothers  tied  to  their 
backs,  and  we  frequently  see  women  binding  wheat  or 
hoeing  the  garden  with  babies  slung  to  their  backs. 

The  larger  Hausa  villages  have  walls  about  them  for 
defense.  The  dwellings  are  odd,  most  of  them  being  built 
almost  entirely  of  mud.  We  know  why  when  we  remember 
that  the  white  ant  will  eat  any  timber  which  is  put  into  a 
building.  Very  few  of  the  houses  are  of  more  than  one 
story.  There  is  but  little  furniture.  A  bedstead  made  of 
reeds  about  a  foot  and  a  half  high  serves  as  a  seat  during 
the  day  and  as  a  sleeping  place  at  night.  In  some  cases 
the  bedstead  is  of  mud,  with  a  hollow  place  under  it  in 
which  a  fire  can  be  Hghted.  Such  bedsteads  are  not 
strong,  and,  although  we  like  the  warmth,  we  should  fear 
that  the  bed  might  give  way  and  we  drop  through  into  the 
fire. 

We  find  the  Hausas  very  polite.  They  make  us  at 
home  in  their  villages  and  often  send  a  guide  with  us  to 
the  next  town.  Such  a  man  usually  carries  a  drum,  to 
give  the  people  the  news  of  our  coming.  The  drum 
serves  as  the  telegraph  instrument  of  this  part  of  the 
world.  When  villages  are  close  together,  messages  can  be 
sent  from  one  town  to  another  by  tapping  on  the  drum 
in  a  certain  way ;  and  our  drummers  are  thus  able  to  let 
the  people  know  who  we  are  and  how  to  receive  us  long 
before  we  get  there  ourselves. 

As  we  near  Kano  we  meet  many  Hausa  soldiers  and, 
now  and  then,  a  long-gowned  priest  in  a  turban.  These 
people  are  mostly  Mohammedans,  and  we  see  them  pray- 
ing with  their  faces  toward  the  east,  and  learn  that  they 


IN   THE   LAND   OF  THE   HAUSAS  1 77 

even  make  pilgrimages  to  Mecca.  Among  the  most  big- 
oted are  those  of  the  race  known  as  Fulahs,  who  are  taller 
and  have  lighter  skins  than  the  Hausas  themselves.  They 
scowl  at  us  as  we  pass  by,  for  they  do  not  like  Christians. 

These  people  believe  in  charms ;  and  some  of  the  Fu- 
lahs are  thought  to  be  so  holy  that  they  can  write  charms 
which  will  prevent  disease,  make  one  rich,  or  cause  his 
sweetheart  to  love  him.  The  charm  is  first  written  in  ink 
on  a  flat  piece  of  wood.  It  is  then  scoured  off,  and  the 
wash  water  is  drunk  by  the  person  who  wants  to  benefit 
by  the  charm.  They  are  also  skilled  in  making  poisons ; 
and  we  are  warned  we  must  be  careful  what  we  eat  as  we 
go  through  the  country. 

The  Hausas  have  excellent  food.  They  are  good  farm- 
ers. We  pass  fields  of  guinea  corn,  maize,  wheat,  and 
rice.  They  raise  quantities  of  millet  and  also  peas,  beans, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  onions.  They  have  bananas,  oranges, 
mangoes,  and  other  fruits.  Some  of  them  have  large 
herds  and  flocks,  and  so  many  bees  that  their  country  is 
really  a  land  of  milk  and  honey.  They  fry  sweet  pota- 
toes in  palm  oil  and  roast  yams  over  the  fire.  They  make 
cakes  of  flour  mixed  with  red  pepper,  and  a  porridge  of 
guinea  corn  so  seasoned  with  pepper  that  it  almost  burns 
one's  mouth.  We  have  plenty  of  chickens  and  ducks  and 
occasionally  some  beef,  mutton,  or  goat's  flesh.  The 
Hausas  eat  the  locusts  which  now  and  then  come  in 
swarms  over  the  country,  darkening  the  face  of  the  sky. 
They  catch  locusts  with  nets  and  roast  them. 

We  spend  some  time  in  Kano.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  large- 
est  city  in  central  Africa  ;  it  has  about  a  hundred  thousand 
people  and  is  surrounded  by  walls  fifteen  miles  in  circum- 


178 


AFRICA 


ference.  The  land  for  miles  about  is  well  cultivated,  and 
there  are  many  Uttle  gardens  inside  the  walls.  The  city 
is  connected  by  railway  with  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  It 
has  thirteen  gates  and  also  a  water  gate  to  let  out  the 
floods.  Much  of  Kano  is  low  and  swampy,  and  a  sheet  of 
water  near  the  center  divides  the  city  into  two  parts.     On 

one  side  of  the  water 
the  richer  Hausasand 
most  of  the  Arabs 
live,  and  on  the  other 
side  are  the  poorer 
people. 

Kano  is  made  up 
of  a  variety  of  low 
buildings;  most  of  the 
houses  are  of  mud,  and 
many  are  surrounded 
by  walls.  One  wall 
often  incloses  several 
houses. 

Some  parts  of  the 
town  are  given  up 
to  manufactuijes,  the 
people      doing      the 

Citizens  of  Kano.  ,       ^   .i     •     , 

work  at  their  homes. 

Here  they  are  weaving  cloth  in  long  narrow  strips  ;  here 
they  are  sewing  saddles  and  leather  goods;  and  there 
making  great  hats  of  straw ;  while  farther  on  a  black- 
smith is  pounding  out  a  spear  or  a  sword. 

The  most  interesting  place   in  the  city  is  the    market, 
which  Hes  close  to  the  lake.     It  is  said  to  be  the  largest 


IN  THE   LAND   OF  THE   HAUSAS 


179 


market  in  Africa,  and  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  often 
thirty  thousand  people  buying  and  selling  here  at  one 
time.  There  has  been  a  market  on  this  spot  for  many 
centuries,  and  a  thousand  years  ago  the  people  were 
m,aking  goods  in  this  town. 
^^/^^^  The  crowd  in  the  market  is  from  all  the  regions  about. 
There  are  half-naked,  black-skinned  men  with  negro  fea- 


Market  at  Kano. 

tures,  there  are  fair-skinned  warriors  from  the  desert  with 
veils  over  their  faces,  and  long-gowned  Arabs  in  turbans. 
The  market  stalls  are  rude  sheds  of  leaves  and  mud,  or 
mere  mats  or  cloths  hung  up  to  shield  the  sellers  and 
buyers  from  the  rays  of  the  sun.  At  other  places  the 
dealers  have  spread  their  stuff  on  the  ground  and  are 
selling  out  in  the  open. 


1 8o  AFRICA 

Every  kind  of  goods  has  its  own  quarter.  Here  they 
are  peddling  fuel.  The  wood  is  tied  up  in  bundles,  and  it 
has  been  brought  in  from  the  country  on  the  heads  of 
slaves.  Over  there  nothing  but  cloth  is  sold.  Those 
goods  of  bright  colors  were  made  by  the  Hausas.  Other 
cloths,  from  Europe,  have  been  brought  in  from  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea  by  rail  or  across  the  Sahara  on  camels. 

We  stroll  through  the  leather  market,  pricing  the  strange- 
looking  shoes  and  slippers  and  the  boots  of  red  and  yellow 
leather  turned  up  at  the  toes.  There  are  leather  pillows  and 
soft  leather  cases  for  books.  Most  of  the  Hausa  books 
are  unbound,  and  these  cases  are  somewhat  like  satchels. 
We  go  to  the  pottery  stores,  where  cooking  utensils,  made 
of  clay,  are  sold  ;  and  then  to  the  iron  mongers  to  buy 
a  spear,  a  sword,  and  other  trinkets.  We  stop  at  the 
sweetmeat  stands  to  taste  a  mixture  of  honey  and  nuts 
fried  in  oil,  and  then  go  on  to  a  stall  where  the  merchants 
are  selling  sugar  and  salt  to  the  children.  We  find  that 
they  charge  quite  as  much  for  the  salt  as  the  sugar,  and 
that  the  children  seem  quite  as  glad  to  eat  one  as  the  other. 

The  grain  and  vegetable  markets  are  interesting.  We 
see  millet,  rice,  barley,  and  different  kinds  of  corn  ;  there 
are  also  pumpkins,  peanuts,  onions,  yams,  and  sweet  pota- 
toes, fresh  and  sour  milk,  butter  and  cheese. 

We  hear  a  great  squawking,  baaing,  and  braying,  and 
pass  on  to  the  section  devoted  to  the  fowls,  goats,  sheep, 
cattle,  horses,  and  donkeys.  We  can  buy  a  good  riding 
pony  for  about  five  hundred  thousand  cowries ;  and  a  fine 
saddle  is  worth  more  than  its  weight  in  these  shells. 

Among  other  strange  things  in  the  market  are  kola 
nuts,  used  as  a  stimulant  and  for  medicine  ;  and  antimony, 


THE   UITER   NIGER  — TIMBUKTU    AND    JENNE  l8l 

with  which  the  women  dye  their  eyeUds  to  make  them 
more  beautiful.  We  spend  some  time  going  from  section 
to  section  watching  market  chiefs  collect  the  taxes  of  the 
merchants  according  to  the  places  they  have  and  the 
amount  of  their  sales.  Everything  is  carefully  ordered, 
and  we  feel  quite  as  safe  as  in  our  markets  at  home. 

— »o>*:o« — 

27.     THE   UPPER    NIGER  — TIMBUKTU    AND 
JENNE 

WE  are  travehng  this  morning  up  the  great  river 
Niger  toward  Timbuktu,  the  chief  trading  center  of 
the  French  Sudan.  We  left  Kano  some  weeks  ago  and 
made  our  way  to  Sokoto,  Wurno,  and  Gando  (gan'do), 
smaller  cities  farther  westward  governed  by  Fulahs,  having 
people  not  unlike  the  Hausas.  From  there  we  came  to  the 
Niger,  one  of  the  chief  rivers  of  the  world,  and  are  now 
afloat  upon  it. 

The  Niger  is  as  long  as  the  Mississippi  proper.  It  is 
surpassed  only  by  the  Kongo  and  the  Nile  among  the 
rivers  of  Africa,  and  it  has  a  basin  almost  one  third  as 
large  as  the  United  States.  The  river  rises  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Kong  plateau,  not  far  from  the  sea,  and  flows 
clear  across  the  Sudan  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  to  the 
Sahara.  It  skirts  the  desert  for  some  distance  and  then 
turns  to  the  southeast,  and  after  a  long,  winding  course 
loses  itself  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  in  southern  Nigeria.  It 
has  one  great  tributary,  the  Benue  (ben' we),  the  mother  of 
waters,  which  rises  near  Lake  Tchad  and,  flowing  through 
a  region  populated  by  millions,  empties  into  the  Niger 
_^sjsveral  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth. 

/ 


l82 


AFRICA 


The  Niger,  like  the  Nile,  has  its  times  of  high  water  and 
low  water,  and  it  also  carries  quantities  of  fertilizing*  mate- 
rial. During  the  floods  the  water  spreads  far  out  over  the 
country,  and  in  those  regions  where  it  flows  near  the  des- 
ert there  are  great  areas  of  irrigated  farms,  such  as  we  saw 
in  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  The  vegetation  is  siimlar  ;  we 
shall  see  mules,  donkeys,  and  camels  feeding  in  the  fields, 
and  palm  trees  waving  their  long  feathery  branches  over 
flat-roofed  mud  villages. 

Farther  downstream,  where  we  now  are,  much  of  the 
river  is  walled  with  forests.  We  travel  long  distances  with- 
out seeing  anything  but  alligators  upon  the  banks,  mon- 
keys in  the  trees,  and,  now  and  then,  a  black  hippopotamus 
swimming  with  its  pink  nose  just  out  of  the  water. 

At  one  place  we  meet  some  EngHsh  hunters  who  have 
killed  a  hippopotamus.     The  great  beast  lies  upon  its  side 


"The  great  beast  lies  upon  its  side  .  .  ." 


THE   UPPER  NIGER  — TIMBUKTU   AND   JENNE  1 83 

in-rfie  marshes,  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  with  a  score  of 
native  boatmen  standing  about.  Its  mouth  is  wide  open 
and  we  can  see  the  great  teeth,  which  will  be  saved  for 
ivory. 
^  ^  As  we  go  ornvard  the  country  grows  more  open.  We 
pass  through  plains  upon  which  sheep,  goats,  and  cattle  are 
feeding.  The  sheep  have  long  hair  instead  of  wool,  and 
the  cattle  have  humps  on  their  backs.  The  flocks  are 
watched  by  shepherds,  and  we  frequently  see  blajck- 
skinned  natives  on  the  bank.  The  men  are  often  armed, 
and  they  brandish  their  weapons  as  we  go  by.  Sometimes 
they  are  good  natured  and  beckon  us  to  land.  There  are 
women  washing  their  clothes  on  the  edges  of  the  stream, 
and  little  half-naked  children  playing  on  the  shore.  Now 
and  then  a  ferry  boat  goes  from  one  bank  to  the  other  with 
a  cargo  of  animals  and  people,  and  we  often  pass  other 
boats  belonging  to  traders,  who  are  carrying  their  wares 
up  or  down  stream. 

Parts  of  our  way  are  through  rapids,  where  we  have  to 
be  pulled  or  pushed  with  poles  ;  in  other  places  the  water  is 
low,  and  great  beds  of  tall  grasses  impede  navigation. 

Our  journey  is  slow,  but  every  day  brings  new  pictures 
and  new  things  in  nature  and  man.  We  see  strange  tribes 
and  strange  animals,  now  getting  a  shot  at  a  monkey  and 
now  at  one  of  the  wonderful  birds  which  inhabit  the  forests 
of  Africa.  There  are  kingfishers  as  blue  as  the  sky,  black 
crows  with  white  breasts,  great  flocks  of  guinea  fowls  and 
pelicans,  which,  as  our  boat  nears  them,  rise  in  awkward 
flight  from  the  river  where  they  are  fishing. 

The  trees   are  as  wonderful   as  the   birds.     There   are 
y    some  that  yield  gutta-percha,  others  palm  nuts  and  palm 


184  AFRICA 

oil,  and  some  from  which  come  flour,  cheese,  and  butter. 
We  have  seen  palm  trees  with  a  sap  which  turns  into  wine, 
and  have  heard  of  trees  which  yield  chocolate,  sugar,  and 
bread  fruit,  but  these  trees  seem  stranger  still. 

The  karita,  or  butter  tree,  has  a  bark  and  trunk  similar 
to  our  chestnut  tree,  and  leaves  somewhat  like  those  of 
the  pear  tree.  It  grows  very  large,  and  has  nuts  so  full 
of  oil  that,  when  boiled  in  water,  the  oil  rises  and  can 
be  skimmed  off.  As  it  cools  it  hardens  and  is  molded 
into  blocks  which  look  more  like  tallow  than  butter.  The 
natives  use  this  butter  in  many  parts  of  the  Sudan.  The 
oily  nuts  are  each  inclosed  in  a  flesh  which  tastes  much 
like  a  peach.  It  is  so  sweet  that  the  people  make  candy 
of  it. 

The  nata,  or  flour  tree,  has  large  pods  containing  flour 
of  a  yellow  color  somewhat  sweet  to  the  taste;  and  the 
cheese  tree,  which  the  natives  call  the  baga,  produces  a 
fruit  which  tastes  like  cheese,  and  a  fiber  nearly  as  fine 
as  silk. 

Traveling  on  northward,  we  reach  the  edge  of  the  Sahara, 
and  later  stop  at  the  port  of  Timbuktu,  north  of  the  Niger, 
about  nine  miles  away.  There  are  camels  and  donkeys 
near  the  landing.  Strange-looking  men  are  loading  and 
unloading  goods.  Packs  are  being  taken  from  donkeys 
and  camels  and  put  into  boats,  to  be  carried  up  and  down 
stream  ;  and  other  boats  are  unloading  their  wares  for  the 
camels.  Negroes  are  doing  the  work,  and  long-gowned 
men  are  ordering  them  about.  There  are  Tue;regs  with 
veiled  faces,  Arabs  in  turbans,  and  many  other  strange 
characters  from  the  different  parts  of  the  Sahara  and  the 
Sudan. 


THE   UPPER   NIGER  — TIMBUKTU   AND   JENNE 


185 


passing  now  and  then  the  skeleton  of  a  camel  or  horse  .  .  ." 


We  ride  over  the  sands  to  Timbuktu,  passing  now  and 
then  the  skeleton  of  a  camel  or  horse  which  has  fallen 
and  died  on  the  way.  The  town  looks  quite  imposing  in 
the  distance.  It  grows  less  so  as  we  approach  it,  and 
when  we  pass  through  its  half-ruined  walls  we  find  only 
a  mass  of  rude  one-story  and  two-story  houses,  many  of 
which  are  falling  to  pieces.  The  doors  of  some  of  the 
buildings  are  gone,  the  flat  roofs  have  broken  in,  and  there 
are  huts  of  mud  and  straw  in  the  middle  of  the  town. 

Timbuktu  was  once  one  of  the  greatest  cities  of  Africa, 
but  it  has  declined  and  now  contains  only  a  few  thousand 
people.     We  shall  find  a  more  important  place  in  Jenne 
(jen'ne),  farther  up  the  Niger. 
*lr  Jenne  and  Timbuktu  might  be  called  parts  of  the  same 


CARP.  AFRICA —  12 


1 86 


AFRICA 


business  city,  although  it  takes  several  weeks  to  go  by  boat 
from  one  to  the  other.  Many  of  the  rich  merchants  who 
do  business  in  Timbuktu  have  their  homes  and  business 
places  in  Jenne,  but  also  keep  warejiouses  and  stores  at 

Timbuktu  because  of  its 
situation  on  the  edge  of 
the  Sahara,  not  far  from 
the  Niger.  It  is  this 
situation  that  has  made 
Timbuktu  an  important 
place.  It  is  the  end  of 
five  great  caravan  routes 
which  cross  the  desert 
from  Morocco,  Algeria, 
and  other  places  north 
of  the  Sahara ;  so  that 
goods  from  all  of  these 
regions  and  from  the 
oases  are  landed  at  Tim- 
buktu, and  thejice  taken 
on  the  Niger  to  differ- 
ent parts  of  its  mighty 
basin.  At  the  same  time 
slaves,  gold  dust,  ivory, 
gums,  and  the  other  products  of  the  Sudan  are  brought  to 
Timbuktu  to  be  sent  across  the  desert ;  the  town  has  also 
a  connection  through  the  Niger  and  Senegal  rivers  and 
the  railroad  with  the  port  of  St.  Louis  (saN  loo-e')  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  so  that  goods  for  and  from  the  other  conti- 
nents are  shipped  out  and  in  by  that  way. 

In  the  past,  when  almost  the  whole  trade  was  by  cara- 


Rich  merchants  of  Timbuktu. 


THE   UPPER   NIGER  — TIMBUKTU   AND   JENNE  1 8/ 

van,  Timbuktu  was  far  more  important.  At  about  the 
time  of  the  discovery  of  America  it  was  the  capital  of 
the  Songhay  (s6n-gl')  erngire,  which  was  so  large  that  it  is 
said  it  took  travelers  six  months  to  cross  it.  This  empire 
lasted  about  one  hundred  years  and  was  finally  overthrown 
by  the  armies  of  Morocco. 

The  Songhay  were  a  mixture  of  the  white  and  black 
races;  and  their  descendants  have  black  or  brown  faces 
and  long  kinky  hair.  There  are  now  many  Fulahs  among 
them. 

The  people  of  Timbuktu  remind  us  of  those  we  saw 
during  our  travels  along  the  Mediterranean.  There  are 
Moors  in  burnouses,  Arabs  in  turbans  and  gowns,  Tuaregs 
in  veils,  dark-faced  Jews,  and  negroes  of  every  description. 
There  are  women  and  girls,  with  faces  unveiled,  wearing 
long  gowns  which  fall  from  their  necks  to  their  feet,  and 
children  dressed  much  like  those  we  saw  in  the  valley  of 
the  Nile.  These  people  are  Mohammedans.  There  are 
many  sheiks  and  priests,  and  we  hear  them  call  the  hours 
of  prayer  from  the  mosques. 
Ujo-  Every  one  is  polite,  and  we  have  little  trouble  in  seeing 
what  we  want  if  we  are  polite  in  return.  We  visit  the 
warehouses  packed  full  of  dates,  salt  blocks,  ivory  tusks, 
and  bales  of  ostrich  feathers.  There  are  also  European 
goods  of  many  kinds,  and  especially  cotton,  hardware,  and 
arms. 

We  watch  the  loading  of  the  camels  which  are  to  start 
across  the  Sahara.  Many  of  them  are  only  half  loaded 
when  they  start  out.  We  ask  why  this  is,  and  are  told  that 
the  rest  of  the  burdens  will  be  made  up  at  the  salt  mines 
on  the  way.     On  one  of  the  caravan  routes,  in  thQ  midst  of 


I  ^8  AFRICA 

the  Sahara,  there  is  a  mine  of  rock  salt  which  supplies 
many  of  the  oases  and  a  large  part  of  the  Sudan.  The 
salt  is  dug  out  in  great  lumps  and  then  trimmed  into 
blocks,  about  a  yard  long  and  a  foot  and  a  half  wide,  in 
which  shape  it  can  be  easily  packed  on  the  backs  of 
the  camels.  The  salt  is  thus  brought  to  Timbuktu,  and  is 
shipped  from  here  to  all  parts  of  the  Niger  basin.'  We 
have  seen  it  sold  in  the  village  markets,  where  the  blocks, 
broken  into  pieces,  always  command  a  good  price. 

We  are  more  than  two  weeks  going  from  Timbuktu  to 
Jenne.  The  river  flows  close  to  the  desert  most  of  the 
way,  and  on  both  sides  of  it  are  irrigated  farms.  Jenne 
stands  on  an  island  surrounded  by  branches  of  the  Niger, 
its  people  owning  most  of  the  lands  for  miles  about.  It  is 
better  built  than  any  other  town  we  have  seen  since  we 
left  Egypt.  Its  streets  are  wide  and  its  houses  are  of 
brick  of  one  and  two  stories,  and  so  plastered  within  and 
without  that  a  house  looks  as  though  it  were  cut  from 
one  block  of  stone.  Most  of  the  buildings  have  flat  roofs, 
and  some  have  clay  pipes  extending  out  over  the  street,  to 
carry  off  the  water  when  it  rains. 

Jenne  is  a  busy  city.  It  has  large  mosques,  warehouses, 
and  stores.  There  are  crowds  at  the  wharves  loading  and 
unloading  boats,  and  donkeys,  with  packs  on  their  backs, 
go  in  long  files  through  the  streets.  There  are  many  men 
carrying  burdens,  and,  at  certain  times  of  the  day,  the 
business  sections  are  crowded. 

We  spend  some  hours  in  the  market,  an  open  place  in 
about  the  center  of  the  town,  with  shops  on  three  sides  of  it 
and  a  mosque  on  the  fourth.  Here  are  hundreds  of  people 
buying  and  selling.     Women  and  men  sit  on  the  ground 


THE  UPPER   NIGER— TIMBUKTU   AND   JENNE 


89 


with  their  wares  spread  about  them.  Money  changers, 
with  piles  of  cowrie  shells  before  them,  stand  ready  to  ex- 
change them  for  gold 
and  silver.  Here  are 
two  boys  peddling  sweet- 
meats and  cakes,  and 
beyond  them  a  butcher, 
who  stands  in  front  of 
his  shop,  with  joints  of 
meat  hung  from  its  roof 
and  live  sheep  behind 
ready  to  be  killed  and 
cut  up,  according  to  the 
demand,  into  roasts  and 
chops.  Near  the  butcher 
shops  are  little  ovens, 
upon  which  one  may 
roast  his  meat  free  of 
charge,  if  he  buys  his 
wood  from  that  fuel 
seller  next  door. 

We  spend  some  time 
in  the  cloth  stores,  pur- 
chase some  perfumery  at  one  of  the  scent  shops,  and  stop 
awhile  to  look  at  the  barbers  shaving  the  heads  of  their 
customers  out  in  the  street. 

Later  on  we  go  to  the  great  mosque,  where  the  wor- 
shipers are  praying,  and  on  the  same  day  see  a  Moham- 
medan school.  The  children  squat  about  their  teacher  out 
in  the  street  and  write  sentences  from  the  Koran,  singing 
them  again  and  again  to  commit  them  to  memory. 


«M^. 

w  ^ 

k '  ^^RJ       '^^'  ^^w^ 

*<.-^:.^MA' 

lit 

^^^mm 

i 

h 

^m 

L^Y^'JM 

^^p*i^^pi 

Here  are  two  boys  peddling  sweet- 
meats and  cakes,  ..." 


1 90  AFRICA 

These  people  are  fanipus  among  the  central  Africans 
for  their  learning.  They  are  also  celebrated  as  traders, 
and  their  boats,  loaded  with  goods,  carry  much  of  the 
commerce  of  this  part  of  the  world. 

From  Jenne  we  travel  some  distance  farther  up  the 
Niger  by  boat.  We  then  cross  the  country  by  caravan  to 
the  Uttle  railroad  built  by  the  French.  This  takes  us  to 
Kayes  on  the  Senegal,  where  we  get  steamers  for  the  port 
of  St.  Louis  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 


3>»<< 


28.     THE  SPANISH    POSSESSIONS 

WE  might  take  a  ship  at  St.  Louis  and  travel  north- 
ward to  visit  the  territory  which  Spain  has  on  the 
west  coast.  The  trip,  however,  would  be  much  out  of 
our  way,  and  as  the  country  is  about  the  same  as  some 
through  which  we  have  traveled  we  shall  not  take  the 
time. 

The  Spanish  possessions  begin  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Cape  Blanco  (blan'ko)  and  extend  several  hundred  miles 
northward  to  Morocco  and  eastward  far  into  the  Sahara. 
They  also  include  a  small  strip  in  northern  Morocco.  The 
Spanish  territory  altogether  is  equal  to  about  six  States  as 
big  as  Ohio,  but  the  greater  part  of  it  is  a  sand^y  waste.  It 
is  therefore  thinly  populated,  and  the  most  of  its  inhab- 
itants are  like  the  people  we  saw  during  our  travels  in  the 
Sahara. 

Most  of  Spanish  Africa  is  ruled  by  the  governor  of  the 
Canary  Islands,  with  a  subgovernor  at  the  town  of  Rio  de 
Oro  (re'o  da  o'ro),  on  the  coast. 


THE   HOME   OF  THE  NEGRO  191 

In  addition  to  this  territory,  Spain  has  the  island  of 
Fernando  Po  (fer-nan'do  p6)  and  several  other  little 
islands  in  the  Gulf  of  Guinea ;  and  also  a  small  tract  on 
the  mainland  near  the  southern  boundary  of  Kamerun 
(ka-ma-robn').  Both  the  islands  and  the  coastal  territories 
are  unhealthful.  The  land  is  swampy  ;  it  is  covered  with 
a  luxuriant  vegetation  and  contains  vast  forests,  from 
which  are  gathered  India  rubber  and  palm  oil.  Its  only 
foreigners  are  some  Spanish,  French,  and  English  mer- 
chants. The  natives  are  negroes  of  a  low  type,  being 
.much  the  same  as  those  of  Kamerun  and  French  Equato- 
rial Africa,  whom  we  shall  see  farther  on  in  our  travels. 
These  possessions  have  but  few  harbors,  and  the  rivers 
are  generally  unnavigable. 

29.     THE    HOME    OF    THE    NEGRO 

OUR  next  journeys  are  to  be  in  that  part  of  Africa 
which  might  be  called  the  true  home  of  the  negro. 
We  shall  travel  soutlrvvard  along  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and 
eastward  and  southward  along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  until 
we  come  to  the  great  river  Kongo,  up  the  valley  of  which 
we  shall  go  for  thousands  of  miles. 

So  far  the  people  we  have  met  have  been  largely  of  the 
white  race,  although  there  were  many  negroes  among  them. 
From  now  on  they  will  be  almost  all  black.  They  will 
have  woolly  hair,  black  skins,  thick  Hps,  and  flat  noses,  not 
unlike  the  pure  Africans  of  the  United  States.  Indeed,  it 
is  from  this  region  that  most  of  the  slaves  of  our  country. 
South  America,  and  the  West  Indies  came.  ^  They  were 


192 


AFRICA 


bought  or  captured  by  slave  traders  who  came  to  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea  and  thence  carried  their  cargoes  to  Portugal 
and  across  the  Atlantic,  or  directly  across  the  Atlantic  to 
Brazil,  the  West  Indies,  and,  at  times,  even  to  our  own 
ports.  One  region  furnished  so  many  slaves  that  it  was 
known  as  the    Slave    Coast,  although    slaves  were    taken 


Native  village. 

from  all  the  countries  of  western  Africa  and  at  one  time 
from  all  parts  of  the  continent. 

The  land  along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  is  very  unhealthful. 
It  lies  near  the  equator,  and  much  of  it  is  low  and 
swarnpy.  Nearly  all  Europeans  or  Americans  who  stay 
long  are  attacked  by  fever,  and  many  die.  Nevertheless, 
the  blacks  thrive.  There  are  many  millions  of  them  in 
this  region.  They  are  divided'' up  into  hundreds  of  tribes, 
each  having  its  own  semibarbarous  customs. 


THE   HOME  OF  THE  NEGRO  1 93 

The  tribes  are  different  from  one  another  in  form,  feature, 
and  language.  Some  are  tall  and  well  formed,  having  full 
chests  and  broad  shoulders.  Others,  such  as  the  Kroos 
(kroos),  found  in  Liberia  and  along  the  coast,  are  shorter, 
but  are  very  strong,  being  employed  to  load  and  unload 
the  boats  at  the  ports.  Nearer  the  Kongo  are  dwarfs  or 
pygmies,  little  black  people  who,  when  full  grown,  are  no 
larger  than  our  boys  and  girls  of  fourteen. 

The  natives  of  the  coast,  where  they  come  in  contact 
with  the  whites,  and  in  the  north,  where  they  mix  with  the 
Mohammedans,  wear  more  or  less  clothing  ;  but  in  the 
wilds  of  the  interior  many  go  almost  naked,  wearing  only 
a  waistcloth  or  petticoat  of  bark  or  skins.  At  the  ports 
we  shall  find  people  fully  clad  in  bright-colored  cot- 
tons from  Europe.  The  women  wear  bandana  handker- 
chiefs about  their  heads,  and  the  gayer  their  calico  dresses 
the  better  they  are  pleased. 

All  are  fond  of  jewelry,  and  in  some  tribes  the  jewelry  is 
valuable.  This  is  so  in  the  countries  which  produce  gold, 
where  we  may  now  and  then  see  men  and  women  wearing 
bracelets,  anklets,  or  earrings  of  gold.  In  other  regions 
the  men-  have  bracelets  of  ivory,  and  along  the  lower  Niger 
the  women  have  heavy  ivory  anklets,  through  which  their 
feet  were  thrjast  when  they  were  little  girls,  and  which  can 
not  now  be  taken  off.  In  some  tribes  they  wear  brass 
rods,  as  thick  as  stair  rods,  wound  about  their  legs  from  the 
ankles  to  the  knees.  Such  rods  are  often  welded  about 
the  leg  when  the  woman  is  married,  and  kept  there  for 
the  rest  of  her  life.  Many  natives  wear  necklaces  of  glass 
beads ;  others  have  cowrie  shells,  either  strung  or  sewed 
upon  cloth,  as  head  ornaments. 


194 


AFRICA 


Among  the  oddest  of  the  negro  customs  is  the  way  of  ar- 
ranging the  hair.  Although  all  the  tribes  are  woolly-headed, 
each  person  seems  to  have  his  own  peculiar  headdress. 
Some  stiffen  the  hair  with  oil  and  clay,  and  then  put  it  up 
in  curious  shapes.  In  one  tribe  the  women  plait  the  hair 
so  that  it  hangs  from  the  head  like  little  black  worms,  in 
another  they  wind  it  up  in  a  knob  on  the  crown,  and  in 


"...  each  person  seems  to  have  his  own  peculiar  headdress." 

a  third  they  dress  it  so  that  it  stands  out  like  two  antelope 
horns,  or  rises  from  the  top  of  the  head  in  a  pillar  or 
tower.  Some  tribes  shave  their  heads  in  spots,  and  others 
wear  the  hair  so  that  it  spreads  out  like  a  fan.  The  men 
grow  no  hair  on  the  face  except,  perhaps,  a  tuft  on  the 
chin,  which  makes  them  look  curious. 

Most  of  these  negroes  are  tattooed,  and  many  have 
peculiar  scars  on  their  faces  and  breasts.  It  is  said  that 
one  can  tell  to  what  tribe  a  person  belongs  by  the  scars 


THE   HOME   OF  THE  NEGRO 


i95 


Oil  his  face.  The  scars 
are  made  in  youth,  color- 
ing matter  being  rubbed 
into  the  wounds,  so  that 
the  marks  are  indehble. 

These  different  negro 
tribes  live  in  villages  of 
mud  huts,  thatched  with 
straw  or  palm  leaves. 
Sometimes  the  villages 
are  surrounded  by  mud 
walls,  and  sometimes  the 
huts  of  a  family  will  be 
built  inside  a  wall ;  so 
that  a  village  is  made  up 
of  a  great  many  walled 
spaces,  each  given  up 
to  one  family. 

Several  villages  are 
often     governed    by    a 


.  .  it  stands  out  like  two  antelope 
horns  ..." 


chief  or  king.  Some  of  the  tribes  are  large,  having  armies 
which  keep  order  and  engage  in  slave  raiding  and  wars 
with  their  neighbors.  A  former  king  of  Dahomey 
(da-ho-ma),  for  instance,  was  said  to  have  had  an  army  of 
women  who  were  as  brave  as  any  army  of  men.  The  king 
picked  out  his  soldiers  when  they  were  girls,  and  had 
them  trained.  They  were  taught  to  shoot  and  fence,  and 
to  endure  all  sorts  of  hardships.  They  were  not  allowed 
to  marry,  and  their  whole  lives  were  devoted  to  warfare. 
V  Many  of  these  negroes  have  little  farms  about  their  vil- 
lages, where  they  raise  millet,  rice,  peanuts,  sweet  pota- 


196  AFRICA 

toes,  yams,  and  Indian  corn.  They  cultivate  the  soil  in  a 
rude  way,  burning  the  ground  over  to  clear  it,  and  dig- 
ging it  up  with  native  spades  and  hoes.  The  women  do 
most  of  the  work,  and  in  many  tribes  they  are  Httle  more 
than  the  slaves  of  their  husbands.  Nearly  every  man  has 
several  wives,  and  the  more  wives  he  has  the  richer  he  is 
thought  to  be,  for  his  wives  can  work  for  him.  We  fre- 
quently see  women  hoeing  in  the  gardens;  they  carry 
great  burdens  on  their  heads,  and  even  paddle  canoes,  with 
babies  slung  to  their  backs.  Near  several  of  the  ports 
plantations  of  cotton  and  cacao  have  been  set  out,  and  both 
women  and  men  work  in  them. 

In  some  of  the  negro  tribes  the  people  are  skilled  in 
weaving  and  working  in  leather,  in  others  they  smelt  iron 
and  make  things  out  of  brass  and  steel.  They  mold 
pottery  for  their  cooking  utensils  and  carve  ivory  and 
wood.  Parts  of  the  country  contain  gold,  which  the  natives 
wash  from  the  streams.  Other  tribes  have  many  hunters 
who  kill  elephants  and  hippopotamuses,  and  there  are 
robber  tribes  who  hire  themselves  out  as  fighters  and  slave 
raiders. 

in  the  interior  of  this  country  slavery  is  practiced, 
although  the  foreign  governments  are  trying  to  do  away 
with  it.  There  are  also  regions  where  the  people  still  eat 
human  beings,  chiefly  slaves  and  those  whom  they  capture 
in  war. 

Nearly  every  tribe  along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  and  through- 
out central  and  southern  Africa,  believes  in  charms  and 
witches.  The  natives  think  there  are  spirits  in  the  trees 
and  bushes,  in  caves  and  other  places.  They  have  witch 
doctors  who  pretend  to  tell  whether  a  man  or  woman  is  a 


THE    HOME   OF   THE   NEGRO 


197 


witch,  and  who   cause   persons   to  be   killed   by  accusing 
them  of  witchcraft.  _ 

Nearly  everybody  has  one  or  more  fetishes,  or  charms, 
which  will,  he  thinks,  protect  him  from  harm,  bring  him 
good  luck,  or  enable  him 
to  defeat  his  enemies 
or  drive  away  sickness. 
The  African  boy  hears 
of  such  charms  as  soon 
as  he  is  able  to  talk. 
One  of  his  friends,  for 
instance,  has  a  fetish 
which  he  says  will  make 
him  rich ;  another  may 
have  one  to  keep  away 
witches;  andothersthose 
which  stop  or  bring  rain 
or  enable  one  to  dis- 
cover theft.  As  the  boy 
growls  older  he  wants  a 
fetish  of  his  own  ;  and 
he  goes  to  the  charm 
doctor  and  learns  how  to  get  or  make  one.  He  soon 
comes  to  think  that  the  charm  is  the  most  important  of 
his  possessions,  and  that  if  any  one  gets  hold  of  it  he 
might  cause  his  death.  He  pretends  to  feed  it,  and  if 
he  has  bad  luck,  he  thinks  it  is  caused  by  the  charms  or 
fetishes  of  his  enemies  which  may  be  more  powerful  than 
his  own. 

Such  charms  are  made  of  all  sorts  of  things.     A  bit  of 
hippopotamus  tooth,  elephant  skin,  or  an  ostrich  feather  may 


:h  doctor. 


198  AFRICA 

be  used,  also  snakes'  heads,  hawk  claws,  horns  of  small 
antelopes,  stones,  seeds,  nuts,  and  beans,  or  other  things 
made  of  bone  and  wood.  Many  of  the  charms  are  images 
of  human  beings  rudely  carved,  some  small  and  some  large. 


Worshiping  a  fetish. 

A  town  will  often  have  as  its  charm  a  large  image,  which 
it  keeps  in  a  shed,  and  which  the  people  suppose  protects 
the  town.  They  think  such  an  image  enables  the  witch 
doctor  to  detect  thieves,  and  ,on  account  of  it  the  people 
are  afraid  to  steal. 

The  natives  of  central  and  southern  Africa  are  grossly 


THE   HOME  OF  THE  NEGRO 


99 


Mission  school. 


superstitious,  and  in  some  places  they  even  make  human 
sacrifices.  In  some  regions  cannibalism  has  been  practiced 
for  ages.  Henrv  M.  Stanley,  the  explorer,  found  human 
flesh  for  sale  in  the  markets  of  the  Kongo  valley,  and  other 
travelers  tell  how  slaves  were  fattened  for  food  and  how 
warlike  expeditions  were  made  in  order  that  the  captives 
taken  might  be  eaten.  Such  customs  still  prevail  in  some 
regions,  although  they  are  fast  dying  out.  In  nearly  all  parts 
of  the  country,  however,  missionaries  are  now  working. 
We  shall  see  mission  schools  as  we  go  on  with  our  travels. 
Some  of  the  people  are  already  more  civilized  than  they 
were  in  the  past ;  and  under  the  control  of  the  governments 
of  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and  France,  to  which  the  chief 
colonies  belong,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  cannibalism,  slavery, 
and  witchcraft  will  in  time  pass  away. 


200 


AFRICA 


30.    SENEGAL,    GAMBIA,    SIERRA    LEONE, 
AND    LIBERIA  —  THE    KROOS 

WE  have  left  St.  Louis  and  have  traveled  by  railroad 
through  Senegal  to  Dakar  (da-kar'),  a  French  naval 
station  on  Cape  Verde,  We  are  now  on  the  western  end 
of  the  continent  and  as  near  our  hemisphere  as  we  shall  be 
during  our  African  tour. 

We  find  ships  at  Dakar  bound  southward  along  the 
coast,  and  take  passage.  We  call  at  Bathurst  (bath'erst),  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Gambia  (gam'bi-a)  River,  in  the  little 
colony  of  Gambia,  belonging  to  Great  Britain.  The  town 
has  about  six  thousand  inhabitants,  and  among  them  marly 
people  who  speak  EngUsh. 


Freetown. 


Our  steamer  stays  but  a  short  time  and  then  carries  us 
on  south  along  the  coast  of  Portuguese  Guinea  and  French 
Guinea  to  Freetown,  the  capital  of  the  British  colony  of 
Sierra  Leone  (si-er'ra  le-o'ne).     The  word  "  Sierra  Leone  " 


SENEGAL,   GAMBIA,   SIERRA   LEONE,   AND   LIBERIA     20I 

means  the  "  mountain  of  the  lion,"  so  named,  it  is  said,  from 
a  great  hill  back  of  Freetown,  which  looks  like  a  lion  crouch- 
ing or  ready  to  spring.  Sierra  Leone  is  about  as  large  as 
Maine.   It  is  a  well-peopled  country,  having  numerous  tribes 


A  village  of  Sierra  Leone. 

who  live  in  villages  surrounded  by  mud  walls  about  eight  feet 
in  height.  The  houses  are  usually  circular  huts,  roofed 
with  thatch,  so  made  that  a  part  of  the  roof  extends 
beyond  the  walls,  shading  a  veranda  where  the  people  rest 
in  the  daytime. 

Much  of  Sierra  Leone  is  covered  with  grass,  and  there 
are  many  cattle.  There  are  also  antelopes  and  other  kinds 
of  game.  Freetown  has  about  forty  thousand  people, 
among  whom  are  many  English  and  Germans.  The  city 
has  several  newspapers.  It  has  broad  streets,  upon  which 
are  one-story  and  two-story  buildings  of  brick  and  stone, 
roofed  with  galvanized  iron.  Along  the  shore  are  great 
warehouses  and  factories.     There  are  large  steamers  at  the 

CARP.  AFRICA  —  I  ^ 


202 


AFRICA 


wharves,  and  we  learn  that  the  place  has  a  considerable 
trade,  sending  ivory,  palm  oil,  gums,  and  other  native  prod- 
ucts to  Europe  and  importing  cotton  goods,  hardware,  and 

American  tobacco. 

We  call  upon  the 
governor  of  the  col- 
ony, see  the  black  na- 
tive soldiers  directed 
by  British  officers  go 
through  their  exer- 
4  cises,  and  spend  some 
time  in  the  English 
stores  laying  in  sup- 
pHes  for  our  journey. 
We  visit  the  market, 
where  we  buy  deli- 
cious pineapples,  or- 
anges, and  other  fruit, 
and  pay  a  porter  a 
few  cents  to  carry 
them  on  his  head  to 
Sierra  Leone  women.  our  ship. 

Leaving  Freetown,  we  steam  on  to  the  negro  republic  of 
Liberia  (iT-be'ri-a).  This  territory  is  about  five  hundred 
miles  long,  and  in  some  places  it  stretches  inland  for  two 
hundred  miles.  It  is  as  large  as  Indiana  and  is  noted  for 
its  fertile  soil.  It  has  a  population  of  more  than  two  mil- 
lion negroes,  mostly  savage  tribes  who  are  ruled  by  chiefs. 
They  are  much  like  the  other  natives  we  have  seen. 
'\  In  addition  to  the  savages,  Liberia  has  about  sixty 
thousand  negroes  who  are  more  or  less  civihzed.     They 


a  t. 

^w^V        !ij^R^^7^9|^>      ^tS^S 

^kb/^^^^m 

\^^^^^^^^BtSSMkm,M§lf*i  '^^^^^UkW   '                                           B 

;     #^'  i^^^i 

f 

^^BB§l\vMIMEg 

f 

H^^^g^' 

j0'^'^^jm:mr 

f 

^^^«i  :t"W«:j^ 

.     SENEGAL,   GAMBIA,   SIERRA   LEONE,   AND   LIBERIA     203 

are  especially  interesting  to  us,  for  many  of  them  are  the 
descendants  of  negroes  from  the  United  States.  This 
republic  was  founded  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who 
gave  it  the  name  Liberia,  which  means  the  "  land  of  the 
free."  Our  people  thought  that  if  some  of  the  American 
negroes  were  sent  back  to  Africa,  they  could  found  there  a 
rep_ublic  where  they  would  live  happily  and  civilize  their 
neighbors.  Liberia  was  chosen  as  the  place,  and  a  govern- 
ment was  planned,  modeled  upon  that  of  the  United  States. 
This  is  the  government  of  Liberia  to-day.  The  country 
has  a  president  and  congress  at  Monrovia  (mon-ro'vi-a),  the 
capital,  and  the  civilized  negroes  are  governed  by  them. 
The  oflBcjals  are  elected  by  the  people,  but  only  negroes 
are  allowed  to  vote. 

Our  ship  calls  at  Monrovia,  and  we  have  time  to  visit 
the  president  and  see  the  congress  in  session.  We  learn 
that  the  experiment  has  not  been  a  very  great  success. 
Monrovia  has  but  five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  the  civil- 
ized negroes  have  only  a  few  villages  along  the  coast. 
They  have  small  plantations  of  coffee,  but  there  are  no 
large  farms,  and  the  territory  governed  as  a  republic  is 
comparatively  small. 

Liberia  is  the  home  of  the  Kroos  or  Kroomen,  who  are 
famous  as  sailors.  They  are  to  be  found  on  all  the  ships 
along  the  western  coast  They  manage  many  of  the 
boats  at  the  ports,  and  they  may  be  seen  everywhere 
loading  and  unloading  vessels.  They  are  fine-looking 
black  men,  strong  and  muscular.  We  have  some  on 
board,  and  gangs  are  at  the  wharves  at  each  stop  of  the 
steamer.  Every  Kroo  has  a  broad,  blue  streak  extend- 
ing  from  his  forehead  to  the  end  of  his  nose.     We  are 


204 


AFRICA 


told  this  is  a  tribal  mark  put  there  by  his  mother  in 
infancy,  and  that  it  is  intended  as  a  pledge  that  its 
owner  will  die  before  he  will  submit  to  slavery.  Very 
few  of  the  Kroos  ever  become  slaves.  They  are  indus- 
trious and  thrifty.  Some  of  them  speak  English,  and 
we  enjoy  talking  to  those  who  are  on  the  steamer. 

Each  part  of  the  shore,  along  which  we  are  now  travel- 
ing, once  had  its  own  name.  Off  Liberia  was  the  Pepper 
Coast  or  Grain  Coast.     Farther  on,  bordering  the  French 


Monrovia. 

possessions,  was  the  Ivory  Coast ;  off  Ashanti  was  the 
Gold  Coast,  and  farther  still  the  Slave  Coast.  The  Grain 
Coast  was  so  named  because  there  was  a  kind  of  pepper 
or  grain  which  came  from  there  which  was  used  for  ex- 
port ;  the  Ivory  Coast  furnished  many  elephants'  tusks ; 
the  Slave  Coast  was  the  favorite  resort  of  the  slave  trader, 
and  back  of  the  Gold  Coast  much  gold  has  been  found. 
We  sail  from  Monrovia  along  the  Ivory  Coast  to 
Ashanti,  where  we  call  at  Akkra,  the  port,  and  thence 
make  our  way  inland  to  Kumassi  (koo-mas'si),  the  capital. 


SENEGAL,   GAMBIA,   SIERRA   LEONE,   AND    LIBERIA     205 

This  region  now  belongs  to  the  British,  and  there  are 
many  English  companies  trading  and  mining  in  it.  There 
is  a  railroad  from  Akkra  to  Kumassi,  and  roads  are  being 
built  through  some  parts  of  the  country. 

We  take  interpreters  at  Akkra  and  travel  here  and 
there,  studying  the  land  and  the  people.  The  country 
is  beautiful,  there  are  hills  and  valleys  and  great  plains. 
There  are  vast  forests  bound  together  with  vines,  in  which 
are  enormous  baobab  trees  with  white  blossoms  and  a  fruit 
the  size  of  a  musk  melon  from  which  a  drink  somewhat 
like  lemonade  is  made.  There  are  also  bamboo  and  fern 
trees,  and  we  find  bananas,  pineapples,  and  other  fruits 
for  sale. 

Ashanti  is  thickly  peopled  by  negroes.  There  are 
many  villages  of  mud  houses  thatched  with  palm  leaves 
or  straw.  Some  of  the  villages  have  mud  walls  about 
them,  and  some  are  composed  of  a  large  number  of 
yards  or  compounds  inside  which  the  houses  are  built. 
Sometimes  there  will  be  several  houses  in  one  com- 
pound, some  devoted  to  the  slaves  or  servants,  some 
to  the  storehouses,  and  others  to  the  owner  and  his 
wives.  Such  a  compound  may  be  the  home  of  one  rich 
man.  The  poor  man  will  often  have  only  one  mud  hut 
for  his  whole  family. 

Kumassi  is  the  old  capital.  It  is  quite  a  large  place, 
surrounded  by  mud  walls  and  divided  up  by  many  streets 
which  have  been  worn  into  ruts  by  the  bare  feet  of  the 
people.  We  visit  the  market  place,  where  hundreds  are 
buying  and  selling,  making  a  great  noise  as  they  haggle 
over  the  prices.  They  are  mostly  women  and  girls,  some 
quite  well  clad  and  others  having  only  a  cloth  about  their 


206  AFRICA 

bodies  fastened  tightly  under  the  arms  and  falling  to  the 
feet.  Some  have  babies  astride  the  hip,  and  others  have 
babies  slung  to  their  backs. 

The  wares  are  fruits,  yams,  meat,  fowls,  and  bright 
cotton  cloths.  Over  there  women  are  selling  fuel,  medi- 
cine, and  hardware.  Others  have  pipes  and  tobacco. 
Here  is  a  girl  with  musical  instruments,  and  there  an 
old  woman  who  has  a  lot  of  quacking  ducks  for  sale. 
In  other  places  they  are  selling  jewelry  of  ivory  and 
gold,  bright-colored  native  cloths,  and  tools  and  swords 
of  iron  or  steel.  Here  and  there  through  the  markets 
are  guards  blowing  trumpets,  warning  the  people  to  keep 
order,  and  making  more  noise  than  all  the  rest. 

There  are  many  Ashanti  tribes,  some  of  which  are 
almost  savage.  In  the  past  the  king  cut  off  the  heads 
of  his  subjects  at  will,  and,  in  Kumassi,  one  might  often 
see  a  score  of  human  heads  hung  upon  poles.  Stealing 
was  punished  by  death,  and  when  the  king  died  a  large 
number  of  his  wives  and  slaves  were  killed  in  order  that  he 
might  have  servants  in  the  next  world. 

On  our  way  back  to  Akkra  we  see  flocks  of  gray 
parrots  and  other  curious  birds.  There  are  many  trees 
which  seem  to  have  coffee  bags  hanging  to  their  branches. 
We  soon  discover  they  are  not  bags  at  all,  but  the  nests 
of  the  golden  oriole,  a  beautiful  bird  which  lays  its  eggs 
in  the  lower  end  of  the  nest,  entering  it  by  a  hole  so 
placed  that  only  something  which  flies  can  get  into  it. 
This  is  to  keep  the  monkeys,  which  infest  the  trees  of  this 
region,  from  stealing  the  eggs. 

Farther  down  the  coast  we  skirt  the  German  colony 
of  Togo  (to' go),  which  is  densely  populated  by  negroes; 


;f6 


LAGOS  — A  VISIT  TO   A   WEST  AFRICAN   FACTORY      20/ 

and  thence  go  on  to  Dahomey,  which  belongs  to  the 
French  and  is  peopled  by  blacks.  In  both  countries  there 
are  many  small  farms.  The  natives  grow  maize,  manioc, 
yams,  and  potatoes.  They  have  sheep,  goats,  and  poultry, 
and  many  small  pigs.  There  are  rubber  trees  in  the 
forests  and  also  oil  palms  and  dyewoods.  The  Ger- 
mans have  planted  cocoanuts  along  the  coast  and  set 
out  coffee  plantations.  They  have  built  some  short  rail- 
roads and  are  trying  to  develop  their  colony.  The  French 
are  also  building  railroads  in  Dahomey,  and  have  put  up 
many  hundred  miles  of  telegraph  lines. 


^>^c 


^1- 


31.     LAGOS  — A   VISIT    TO    A   WEST   AFRICAN 
FACTORY 

WE  have  left  Dahomey  and  have  come  to  the  island 
of  Lagos,  off  the  shores  of  southern  Nigeria.  We 
are  in  the  chief  British  settlement  of  the  Niger  territory, 
and  in  one  of  the  largest  foreign  towns  of  the  western 
coast. 

Lagos  is  quite  European  in  appearance.  It  has  many 
comfortable  houses  of  one  story  and  two  stories,  with  large 
gardens  in  which  there  are  palms  and  other  beautiful  trees. 
It  has  a  wide  road  along  the  shore,  where  we  may  see 
EngHsh  boys  and  girls  riding  and  driving  with  their  parents. 
There  are  quite  a  number  of  stores  kept  by  Englishmen 
and  several  large  trading  houses. 

The  trading  houses  of  western  Africa  are  called  factories. 
They  are  devoted  to  importing  goods  of  different  kinds 
from  Europe  and  the  United  States,  and  exchanging  them 


208 


AFRICA 


for  the  native  products  brought  in  on  boats  and  by  porters 
from  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  ordinary  factory  is  a  large,  wooden  building  with 
a  roof  of  galvanized  iron.  It  has  several  rooms,  including 
a  store,  a  cooper  shop,  and  often  great  caldrons  for  boil- 
ing palm  oil.  In  one  part  of  the  warehouse  may  be  seen 
bales  of  cotton,  boxes  of  tobacco,  bags  of  salt,  packages 


A  factory, 

of  hardware,  and  beads  to  be  sold  to  the  natives ;  and  per- 
haps in  the  same  room  ivory  tusks,  dyewood,  gums,  and 
other  such  things  which  have  been  taken  in  exchange. 

Among  the  chief  exports  of  this  part  of  Africa  are  palm 
oil  and  the  kernels  of  palm  nuts.  These  products  come 
from  the  oil  palm,  which  thrives  everywhere  along  the  Gulf 
Coast,  and  which  is  so  numerous  that  thousands  of  natives 
are  engaged  in  gathering  the  nuts  and  making  the  oil. 


LAGOS  — A  VISIT  TO  A   WEST  AFRICAN   FACTORY      209 


The  oil  palm  has  no 
leaves  except  at  the  top 
of  the  tree,  where  the 
fruit  grows  in  great 
bunches  or  cones  at  the 
base  of  the  leaves. 
Some  of  the  cones  will 
weigh  as  much  as  sev- 
enteen pounds  each,  and 
a  single  cone  may  con- 
tain as  many  as  seven 
hundred  nuts,  each  as 
large  as  a  horse-chestnut. 

The  negro  climbs  the 


.  .  walks  right  up  to  the  top. 


A  bunch  of  palm  nuts. 

tree  with  a  long  hoop 
of  rattan  which  he 
fastens  around  it.  He 
then  steps  inside  the 
hoop  and  raises  it  so 
that  one  curve  rests 
against  the  tree  above 
him  and  the  other 
upon  his  back.  He 
now  puts  his  bare  feet 
on  the  trunk  and  by 
a  succession  of  jerks 
walks  right  up  to  the 
top. 

He    then    cuts    off 
the  cones  and  throws 


210  AFRICA 

them  to  the  ground.  They  are  left  there  for  a  few  days, 
and  the  nuts  shrink  and  drop  out.  They  are  now  boiled 
in  water  to  remove  the  outside  shell,  which  is  lined  with  a 
fiber  saturated  with  oil.  The  fiber  is  crushed  from  the 
kernels  of  the  nuts  in  large  mortars,  and.  is  then  placed  in 
clay  vats  filled  with  water. ,  The  native  women  get  into 
the  vats  and  tramp  the  fiber  to  press  out  the  oil.  It  rises 
to  the  surface  and  is  skimmed  off.  After  this  the  fiber 
and  shells  are  again  boiled  and  the  oil  is  skimmed  from 
the  surface.  It  is  of  a  dirty  yellow  color,  but  it  is  so  valu- 
able for  making  soap,  axk  grease,  and  other  things  that  it 
is  exported  to  Europe  by  the  thousands  of  tons. 

The  kernels  of  the  nuts  are  also  valuable  for  the  same 
purpose.  They  are  dried  and  thus  sent  to  Europe,  where 
they  are  ground  up,  and  the  oil  is  pressed  out  of  them. 

Is  not  this  a  wonderful  tree  .^  Yes,  but  it  has  other 
virtues  in  addition  to  those  already  described.  Its  leaves 
are  used  to  thatch  the  huts,  and  from  their  fiber  mats,  hats, 
and  other  things  are  made.  At  the  root  of  the  leaves  there 
is  a  heart  called  the  palm  cabbage,  which  is  eaten  as  a 
vegetable.  When  boiled  it  tastes  Uke  parsnips,  and  its  neck 
is  said  to  have  the  flavor  of  the  finest  asparagus.  The 
natives  tap  this  cabbage  when  it  is  on  the  tree  and  fasten 
a  gourd  to  it.  A  sap,  which  looks  somewhat  like  ginger 
beer,  thereupon  flows  out  into  the  gourd.  It  ferments  and 
in  a  short  time  turns  to  wine.  The  natives  use  palm  oil 
for  lighting  and  cooking,  and  also  for  greasing  their  hair 
and  skins. 

Another  remarkable  tree  found  here  and  in  many  other 
parts  of  the  African  continent  is  the  baobab  or  monkey- 
bread  tree.     The  baobab  is  one  of  the  largest  of  trees.     It 


LAGOS  — A   VISIT  TO   A  WEST   AFRICAN    FACTORY       211 


is  not  so  tall  as  some  others,  but  it  grows  to  a  thickness  of 
from  twenty  to  thirty  feet,  and  is  sometimes  as  much  as  one 
hundred  feet  in  circumference.  It  has  enorrnous  branches, 
often  as  thick  as  the  trunk  of  a  great  oak,  and  its  blossoms 


Baobab  tree. 

are  balls  of  pure  white,  four  or  five  inches  across.  The 
fruit  of  the  baobab  is  a  gourd  fourteen  or  fifteen  inches  long, 
with  a  stem  two  or  three  feet  long.  The  flesh  inside  is  red 
with  a  yellowish  tint.  It  has  seeds  imbedded  in  it.  The 
natives  pound  up  the  seeds  into  meal,  and  they  use  the 


^12 


AFRICA 


shells  to  carry  water  or  to  bale  out  canoes  and  to  hold 
salt  and  other  things. 

The  leaves  of  this  tree  when  young  are  eaten  as  a  vege- 
table. They  are  a  bright  green  and  somewhat  like  the 
leaves  of  a  horse-chestnut.     The  wood  is  pecuUar.     It  is 

not  good  for  lumber, 
as  it  is  composed  of 
fibers  separated  by 
layers  of  pith.  The 
inner  bark  has  so 
many  fibers  that  it  is 
often  stripped  off  and 
made  into  paper.  It 
can  be  twisted  into 
strings  and  ropes,  and 
the  natives  sometimes 
pull  out  the  fibers  and 
Baobab  blossom.  ^^^^    ^^^^   ^^d    nets 

of  them.  The  inside  of  the  baobab  tree  often  rots,  so  that 
the  tree  becomes  hollow.  In  this  case  it  is  sometimes  used 
as  a  water  barrel,  being  filled  during  the  wet  season  or  at 
the  time  of  a  storm,  and  drawn  off  when  needed,  after  the 
rains  have  passed.  ^ 

32. 


D^*^< 


THE   YORUBANS  — SOUTHERN   NIGERIA 


THERE  is  a  railroad  from  Lagos  into  the  land  of  the 
Yorubans  (yo'roo-bans),  one  of  the  largest  tribes  of 
southern  Nigeria.  The  road  crosses  the  swampy  lagoon 
which  Hes  between  the  island  and  the  mainland,  and  then 
goes  up  the  valley  of  the  Ogun  (6-goon')  River  to  the  great 


THE  YORUBANS  — SOUTHERN   NIGERIA  213 

native  cities  of  Abeokuta  (a-ba-6-koo'ta)  and  Ibadan 
(e-ba'dan)  and  thence  on  to  Kano. 

Much  of  this  country  is  a  network  of  streams,  and  we 
wind  our  way  in  and  out  over  the  water  ways,  now  through 
dense  forests  where  the  trees  are  bound  together  with 
vines  and  now  over  plains  spotted  with  beautiful  groves. 
We  pass  villages  of  huts,  made  of  sticks  woven  together 
and  covered  with  mud.  The  roofs  are  of  thatch,  and 
many  of  the  huts  are  inclosed  by  mud  walls.  Near  every 
village  are  small  farms  in  which  women  are  working  the 
crops.  We  see  little  fields  of  Indian  corn,  yams,  sweet 
potatoes,  and  peanuts,  and  now  and  then  a  patch  of  sugar 
cane  or  tobacco.  There  are  fruit  trees  here  and  there ; 
and  delicious  oranges  and  pineapples  are  brought  to  the 
windows  when  the  train  stops. 

Every  village  has  ducks,  chickens,  and  pigeons,  and 
flocks  of  guinea  fowls.  In  the  plains  there  are  sheep 
covered  with  hair,  some  of  them  so  gentle  that  they  trot 
along  like  dogs  at  the  heels  of  the  children  as  they  go  to 
and  fro  over  the  little  farms.  We  are  told  that  each 
sheep  has  its  own  name  ;  it  knows  the  voice  of  its  owner 
and  will  come  when  it  is  called. 

At  last  we  reach  Abeokuta,  the  largest  city  of  the 
Yorubans.  It  has  a  population  of  about  two  hundred 
thousand,  and  its  mud  huts  extend  for  six  miles  up  and 
down  the  banks  of  the  Ogun  River.  There  is  a  mud  wall 
about  it,  and  in  its  center  an  enormous  rock  from  which 
the  city  gets  its  name,  for  Abeokuta  means  ''  Under  a 
Rock." 

The  city  is  divided  into  a  vast  number  of  yards,  with 
narrow  lanes  leading  here  and  there  through  them,  but 


214 


AFRICA 


:^Si^^ 


SSssaa 


In  Abeokuta. 
with  no  fixed  streets.  Each  yard  has  a  mud  wall  sur- 
rounding it  against  which  the  houses  are  so  built  that 
the  wall  forms  the  back  of  each  room.  The  roofs  are  of 
thatch,  beginning  at  the  wall  and  extending  over  the 
rooms.  They  are  ridge-shaped  and  so  long  that  they 
cover  a  sort  of  veranda  or  porch  along  the  front  of  each 
house.  The  people  live  on  the  porches  as  well  as  inside, 
while  sheep,  goats,  chickens,  and  pigs  are  kept  in  the 
yards.  Nearly  every  inclosure  has  a  little  pigeon  cote, 
and  also  posts  to  which  the  horses  are  tied. 

Some  of  the  richer  Yorubans  have  large  establishments, 
with  many  rooms  for  their  numerous  wives  and  slaves. 
Several  families  may  live  in  one  yard,  and  some  have 
so  many  dwellings  divided  up  by  courts  that  a  stranger 
might  get  lost  if  the  bale  or  ruler  of  that  yard  did  not 
show  him  about. 


THE  YORUBANS  — SOUTHERN   NIGERIA  21  5 

The  Yorubans  are  even  stranger  than  their  houses. 
They  belong  to  a  race  numbering  about  four  milUons, 
which  inhabits  a  large  region  between  Dahomey  and  the 
Lower  Niger.  They  are  negroes,  but  more  civilized  than 
the  natives  we  met  along  the  coast. 

All  these  people  excepting  the  little  children  wear  more 
or  less  clothing.  The  women  are  clad  in  bright  cottons. 
Some  have  cloths  wrapped  tightly  about  their  persons 
under  the  arms,  which  fall  on  one  side  to  the  knee,  and 
on  the  other  to  the  feet.  Others  have  a  cloth  about 
the  waist  and  over  the  shoulders,  and  some  a  third  cloth 
tied  about  the  head  like  a  turban.  Many  of  the  women 
have  black  babies  fastened  to  their  shining  black  shoul- 
ders. The  little  ones  laugh  and  coo  as  their  mothers  walk 
through  the  streets,  work  in  the  fields,  or  sell  goods  in 
the  market.  Now  and  then  a  baby  cries,  but  this  does 
not  bother  the  mother,  and  it  is  allowed  to  cry  on. 

Some  of  the  men  wear  loose  trousers  land  cloths  about 
their  shoulders  ;  others  are  bare  to  the  waist,  and  have 
only  a  white  cloth  around  the  loins.  A  few  who  are 
Mohammedans  have  turbans  and  gowns. 

The  most  of  the  Yoruban  men  go  bareheaded  and  all 
are  barefooted.  Their  features  are  much  like  those  of 
our  negroes,  save  that  every  one  has  more  or  less  scars. 
How  many  bald  men  there  are !  That  comes  from  shav- 
ing. The  men  shave  not  only  their  faces  even  to  the 
eyebrows  and  nostrils,  but  also  their  heads.  The  scars 
are  made  in  youth,  every  boy  being  marked  with  certain 
cuts  denoting  his  family  and  tribe.  The  people  can  tell 
just  who  a  man  is  by  his  scars. 

In  company  with  the  guide  we  make  our  way  through 


2l6 


AFRICA 


the  city,  watching  the  natives  at  work.  The  Yorubans 
have  many  industries.  Blacksmiths,  carpenters,  hat- 
makers,  and  tailors  are  plying  their  trades  in  their  homes. 
Here  they  are  smelting  iron,  there  making  bags  and 
satchels,  and  farther  on  they  are  weaving  bright-colored 
cloths.     These  people  are  noted  for  their  tools,  baskets, 


"...  we  often  listen  to  concerts  by  native  bands." 

pottery,  and  jewelry.  Like  the  other  tribes  of  this  region, 
they  are  fond  of  music ;  and  we  often  Hsten  to  concerts  by 
native  bands. 

We  go  to  the  market,  where  thousands  are  buying  and 
selling  all  sorts  of  native  manufactures,  together  with 
the  grains,  fruits,  and  vegetables  raised  on  the  farms. 
Peddlers  with  their  wares  on  their  heads  are  moving 
about,  and  many  are  squatting  on  the  ground  with  their 
merchandise  piled  up  before  them.  Notice  the  cowrie 
shells.     They  are  the  chief  money  of  the  Yorubans.     It 


THE   YORUBANS  — SOUTHERN   LIBERIA  21/ 

takes  forty  shells  to  equal  an  American  cent.  We  buy 
a  half  bushel,  and  give  them  to  our  guide  to  purchase 
curios  for  us  to  take  back  home. 

We  stop  at  a  cook  stand  where  sweet  potatoes  are 
steaming  in  earthen  pots,  and  afterward  eat  a  cake  of 
corn-meal  dough  fried  in  palm  oil. 

The  Yorubans  have  fine  fruits  and  vegetables.  They 
have  delicious  pineapples,  mangoes,  and  oranges.  They 
are  fond  of  ekkaw,  which  is  fermented  Indian  meal  boiled 
in  large  pots  to  the  thickness  of  cream.  They  steam  yams 
and  pound  them  into  a  paste  which  is  eaten  with  sauce. 
Another  favorite  dish  is  beans  stewed  in  palm  oil ;  they 
eat  chickens  and  mutton,  and  like  fat  dog  meat  served 
with  a  peculiar  sauce. 

Wild  honey  is  sold  in  the  market,  and  also  sugar  cane, 
which  the  children  buy  and  suck  as  we  do  stick  candy. 
Nearly  every  one  uses  snuff,  but  here  the  people  put  the 
snuff  on  their  tongues  instead  of  into  their  noses. 

The  Yorubans  are  still  wild  and  savage,  although  not  so 
barbarous  as  in  the  past.  They  are  governed  by  a  native 
king,  under  the  direction  of  the  British  ;  but  they  still 
believe  in  witch  doctors  and  worship  spirits  of  various 
kinds.  There  are  many  missionaries  working  among 
them.  They  tell  us  that  the  natives  are  improving,  but 
that  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  they  will  become  what 
we  call  civilized. 

Taking  the  train  we  are  soon  back  at  the  coast.  Our 
ship  moves  along  the  delta  of  the  great  Niger  River,  pass- 
ing its  many  mouths.  The  country  is  low  and  swampy,  and 
so  unhealthful  that  we  do  not  attempt  to  go  inland.  Our 
boat  stays  a  few  hours  at  Old  Calabar  (cal-a-bar'),  at  the 

CARP.    AFRICA  —  1 4 


2l8  AFRICA 

mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name.  It  is  an  important 
port  of  southern  Nigeria ;  and  is  noted  as  a  trading  center 
from  which  ivory,  palm  oil,  and  other  native  products  are 
shipped  to  Europe. 

Here  we  meet  EngHshmen  who  have  been  years  in 
Africa.  They  describe  the  negroes  who  live  along  the 
Benue  and  the  lower  Niger.  They  are  less  civilized  than 
the  Yorubans.  They  worship  spirits  and  believe  in  witch- 
craft. Slavery  is  common,  and  in  the  past  there  have 
been  human  sacrifices.  The  natives  wear  but  little  cloth- 
ing although  they  have  bracelets  and  anklets  of  ivory, 
brass  wire,  and  beads.  The  products  are  about  the  same 
as  in  the  reorions  we  have  recentlv  visited. 


3>*iC 


33.    THE  HOME  OF  THE  GORILLA  — KAMERUN 
AND  FRENCH   EQUATORIAL  AFRICA 

SAILING  southward,  we  coast  for  several  days  along  the 
shores  of  Kamerun  and  French  Equatorial  Africa,  two 
vast  provinces  belonging  to  Germany  and  France.  The  land 
near  the  sea  is  low  and  heavily  wooded.  Farther  back  a 
range  of  great  mountains  rises  above  the  forests  like  a 
wall,  and  beyond  it  are  high  plateaus  covered  with  grass 
or  woods,  the  home  of  countless  elephants,  lions,  leopards, 
antelopes  and  wild  buffaloes. 

In  the  coast  lands  are  beautiful  birds,  myriads jof  insects, 
and  gorgeous  butterflies  ;  at  night  the  air  is  alive  with  fire- 
flies and  phosphorescent  beetles,  and  in  the  daytime 
strange  water  birds  may  be  seen  along  the  shore.  There 
are  ibises,  cranes,  and  wild   ducks,   swimming  or  wading 


THE   HOME  OF  THE   GORILLA 


219 


about  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  and  huge  peHcaiis  which  are 
catching  fish  with  their  bills  and  storing  them  away  in  the 
pouches  under  their  necks.  They  continue  fishing  until 
their  pouches  are  full,  and  then  sit  sleepily  down  in  the 
water  to  digest  the  catch  at  their  leisure.  The  pelican's 
pouch  takes  the 
place  of  our  pock- 
ets, which  we  some- 
times fill  with  apples 
to  eat  later  on. 

In  the  rivers  of 
this  part  of  the  world 
are  many  crocodiles 
and  families  of  hip- 
popotamuses, while 
along  the  banks  of 
the  Gabun  (ga- 
boon')andthe  Ogo- 
we  (o-go-wa' )  are  the 
homes  of  the  gorilla 
and  chimpanzee,  the 
terrible  man  apes. 
The  gorilla  is  the 
largest  and  fiercest  of  the  monkey  tribe.  When  full  grown 
it  is  five  or  six  feet  tall,  and  looks  not  unlike  a  great  ugly 
man  covered  with  thick  reddish  brown  or  black  hair.  It 
has  an  enormous  body  with  a  huge  chest,  and  long  arms 
which  are  so  strong  that  it  can  take  a  gun  barrel  and 
double  it  up  in  its  hands.  It  has  hands  like  a  man,  with  a 
thumb  and  four  long  fingers.  Its  feet  serve  also  as  hands, 
so  that  it  can  climb  trees  as  well  as  the  smallest  monkey. 


Gorilla. 


220 


AFRICA 


Gorillas  are  usually  found  far  from  the  settlements,  in 
the  loneliest  and  darkest  parts  of  the  jungle.  They  live  in 
families;  a  papa  gorilla,  a  mamma  gorilla,  and  the  chil- 
dren gorillas  staying  together.  Sometimes  a  family  will 
sleep  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  and  sometimes  in  it,  high  up  from 
the  ground,  making  a  bed  Uke  a  hammock  by  tying  the 
branches  together  with  vines  and  laying  leaves  upon  them. 
These  beasts  feed  upon  the  fruits,  nuts,  vegetables,  and 
roots  which  grow  wild  in  the  woods.  They  eat  small 
animals  and  birds,  being  especially  fond  of  eggs,  and 
hunting  birds'  nests  to  get  them. 

Gorillas  are  very  fierce.    They  shun  man,  but  if  attacked 
will    fight   to    the   death.     When    surprised    the    children 

gorillas  run  away, 
but  the  parents  stay 
to  keep  off  the  en- 
emy, pounding  their 
huge  chests  with 
rage,  and  roaring 
with  a  noise  hke 
thunder.  They 
gnash  their  sharp 
white  teeth,  and  if 
they  can  get  hold 
of  one's  gun  will 
bite  dents  in  the 
iron. 

Chimpanzees  are 
much  the  same  as 
gorillas,  although 
not  so  large.     They 


Chimpanzee. 


THE   HOME   OF  THE   GORILLA 


221 


usually  go  about  on  all 
fours,  but  can  walk  erect 
better  than  other  mon- 
keys. They  climb  the 
trees,  swinging  them- 
selves from  branch  to 
branch. 

But  what  kind  of  peo- 
ple live  in  these  regions  .'' 

We  can  tell  something 
of  the  inhabitants  from 
the  men  at  the  ports. 
They  are  much  like  the 
natives  we  saw  along 
the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  with 
now  and  then  a  trader 
or  hunter  similar  to  the 
people  of  northern  Nige- 
ria west  of  Lake  Tchad.  Native  woman. 
Kamerun  and  French  Equatorial  Africa  extend  northward 
to  Lake  Tchad  and  the  Sahara,  the  German  province  of 
Kamerun  being  larger  than  the  whole  German  Empire,  and 
French  Equatorial  Africa  more  than  twice  the  size  of  France. 
Both  countries  have  a  large  population  of  many  tribes. 
Those  along  the  coast  are  negroes,  while  farther  back  are 
mixed  races  with  different  customs  and  beliefs.  Those  of 
the  far  west  are  chiefly  Mohammedans. 

Some  of  these  tribes  are  very  barbarous.  Slavery  is 
common,  and  in  the  interior  cannibalism  is  frequently 
practiced.  Among  the  most  important  races  are  the 
Fans.     They  are   more  intelligent   than   their   neighbors, 


i 


222  AFRICA 

being  especially  noted  for  smelting  iron  and  making 
knives,  spearheads,  and  axes.  The  Fans  are  skilled  ele- 
phant hunters.  They  drive  the  animals  into  pits  and  then 
kill  them  with  spears. 

We  spend  a  while  at  Kamerun,  the  seat  of  the  German 
government,  under  the  high  Kamerun  mountain,  and  also 
at  Libreville  (le-br-vel')  and  Loango  (l6-an'go)  in  French 
Equatorial  Africa.  They  are  small  towns,  with  only  a  few 
Europeans,  consisting  of  the  merchants  and  officials,  and 
some  missionaries  and  teachers.  The  country  is  unhealth- 
ful,  and  white  men  are  almost  sure  to  have  fever. 

We  visit  the  factories  to  learn  about  the  exports,  seeing 
there  great  quantities  of  rubber,  dyewoods,  ebony,  palm 
oil,  and  ivory.  In  the  markets  we  watch  the  dealers 
selling  peanuts,  tobacco,  cacao,  and  coffee  from  the  new 
plantations  near  by.  Both  Germany  and  France  are 
trying  to  develop  their  colonies  ;  and  are  planting  cotton, 
coffee,  cacao,  cloves,  vanilla,  ginger,  and  pepper.  They 
have  estabhshed  schools  and  are  cutting  out  roads  to 
open  up  parts  of  the  country. 

34.     THE    KONGO    AND    ITS    BASIN 

WE  have  left  Loango  and  are  steaming  along  on  our 
way  to  the  Kongo.  The  ocean  is  already  brown 
with  the  silt  from  the  river.  The  screw  of  our  steamer 
turns  up  the  green  sea  from  under  the  brown  and  churns 
all  to  a  chocolate  foam.  We  are  approaching  the  mouth 
of  one  of  the  largest  rivers  on  earth. 

The  Kongo,  while  not  so  long  as  the  Nile,  is  greater  in 


THE  KONGO  AND    ITS   BASIN 


223 


V:;S,B.iiek 

O   V?K-A-3I/ERUN  /^ 

K      oGr.l3atan-aLr\  1      f  N> 


MS" 

ir  1  T  r  s  H 

^^  ENTEBBE         ^^I.. 

"^  \        -V-^\<.  /     )>F>  jITL    G    \r\A    N     ^/  J    ^^-^        ^N^   \         ^ 


_    \(   _    p>  irlT  r  s  H 

,      .^L--  Vs  I        V  1    IM  L  A 

uwenzori  M 

'"'      ENTEBBE         f^i.. 


Leoftuk 


■^    Banana'o*. 
3ananaPt.TBO.MAi       -.loi^a; 
I                     \     KONGO-; 
"^    AmbrizV- VS 


.3^4^..,4 


^--i';  y^^-^  ifv<^^^ 


.\FrjC.V\l\  NTV      r^'-  ^'(  ^      'Loiireneo  Marqnez  \i 


Angra  Pequcna 


>5^  Port  >uUutb' 


FK1CA\J\  s-'r\       ]'"',.  ~i^,f  ^      'Loiireneo  Marqn 

^^^^^'0°    f(>^vbur_.  ^^^'  ^^e>^'         r-yReubon  Pt. 

,        <■      '      K./\i^  -,<i  st-'l     ''■'■-•>  !■.■    \a_A 


v^^ 


/o 


C.  of  Good  Hope '^v'a-hii--f"'^^'"*^         ^' 
Danger  Pt.      C.  Ayulnas 


Kinp  ^\  iUiains  Tuwn 
•^  T-a^t  London 
Port  Alfred 
"  ^-'i/abeth 


SCALE   OF  MILES 


JUU       2u0       3llU      400      500 


Southern  Africa. 

volume  than  any  other  river  in  Africa,  is  greater  in  vohime 
than  the  Mississippi,  and  is  second  only  to  the  Amazon. 
It  drains  a  basin  as  large  as  half  of  the  United  States 
proper,  and  carries  down  so  much  sediment  every  year 
that,  if  it  could  be  piled jip  in  one  place,  it  would  form  a 


224 


AFRICA 


hill  a  mile  square,  and  almost  as  high  as  the  Washington 
Monument. 

The  Kongo  is  as  long  as  the  distance  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco,  and  two  of  its  tributaries,  the  Kassai 
(kas-sl')  and  the  Ubangi  ( do-ban' ge),  are  each  almost  as 
long  as  the  distance  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.  The  river  has  many  tributaries,  and  its  navi- 
gable water  ways,  if  stretched  out  in  one  line,  would  reach 
about  halfway  around  the  globe.  So  numerous  are  the 
rivers  that  there  is  hardly  a  spot  in  the  whole  basin  that 
is  eighty  miles  distant  from  a  navigable  water  way. 


hH^» 

IS 

ii 

\l\  .*^''<S  ! ■ 

^H^ 

Native  village. 

From  its  mouth  to  Matadi,  about  one  hundred  miles 
inland,  the  Kongo  is  more  Hke  a  long  lake  than  a  river. 
It  is  five  or  six  miles  wide,  and  in  many  places  three  hun- 
dred feet  deep.  From  Matadi  (Ma-ta'de)  to  Stanley  Pool, 
about  two  hundred  miles,  there  is  a  series  of  cataracts ; 
but  above  that  to  Stanley  Falls  are  more  than  one  thou- 
sand   miles   of   open   river,   upon    which    steamboats  can 


THE  KONGO   AND   ITS   BASIN 


225 


travel  as  well  as  upon  the  Mississippi  or  the  lower  parts 
of  the  Hudson.  Still  farther  inland  are  long  stretches  of 
fine  water  ways,  the  river  extending  on  and  on,  with  many 
tributaries,  until  at  last  it  is  connected  by  the  Lukuga 
(loo-koo'ga)  with  Lake  Tanganyika,  and  by  the  Luapula 


Railway  station,  Matadi. 

(loo-a-pooMa)  and  the  Lualaba  (loo-a-la'ba)  with  other  great 
lakes  farther  south,  not  far  from  the  watershed  of  the  Zam- 
bezi (zam-ba'ze).  On  the  north  the  head  waters  of  its  trib- 
utaries come  very  close  to  those  of  Lake  Albert,  Lake 
Victoria,  and  the  other  head  waters  of  the  Nile. 

The  Kongo  basin  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  nature.  Ex- 
cept where  the  river  breaks  through,  it  is  shut  in  from 
the  Atlantic  by  a  wall  of  mountains.  There  are  highlands 
all  about  it,  and  scientists  tell  us  that  it  was  once  covered 
by  a  vast  inland  sea  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand 


226  AFRICA 

feet  deep,  and  so  large  that  the  evaporation  of  its  waters 
filled  the  air  with  moisture,  giving  rains  to  a  great  part  of 
the  Sahara  and  Libyan  deserts. 

Then  the  lake  began  to  overflow  at  the  west,  through 
a  sandy  pass  in  the  mountains.  The  waters  cut  the  pass 
down  into  the  gorge,  where  the  cataracts  of  the  Kongo  now 
are,  and  before  long  they  made  a  deep  trough  out  to  the 
ocean.  As  the  gorge  grew  deeper  and  deeper,  more  and 
more  of  the  waters  flowed  off  until  the  land  was  left  as  it 
is  to-day. 

This  happened  ages  ago,  and  now  all  the  water  that  falls 
in  the  basin  is  carried  out  to  the  sea  by  the  Kongo.  The 
basin  is  covered  with  vast  forests  and  grassy  plains.  It  is 
inhabited  by  wild  animals,  birds,  and  insects,  and  by  millions 
of  more  or  less  savage  men.  We  shall  see  all  this  for  our- 
selves as  we  travel  up  the  river. 

The  water  grows  muddy  as  we  steam  onward.  The 
green  of  the  sea  disappears,  and  as  we  enter  the  wide 
mouth  of  the  Kongo  the  river  has  the  color  of  pea  soup. 
Now  we  have  a  strong  current,  and 'our  ship  goes  more 
slowly.  There  are  natives  here  and  there  fishing  in  rude 
boats  far  out  in  the  stream,  enormous  crocodiles  are  sleep- 
ing on  the  sand  banks,  and  from  time  to  time  storks, 
pelicans,  or  wild  geese  fly  over  us.  Now  we  see  a  flock  of 
wild  ducks,  and  now  white  cranes,  flying  together,  float  like 
a  great  sheet  across  the  sky. 

We  pass  Banana  Point,  a  long,  sandy  peninsula,  formed 
by  the  ocean  and  river,  on  which  some  factories  or  ware- 
houses are  located,  and  steam  onward  eighty  miles  farther 
up  to  Boma  (bo'ma),  the  African  seat  of  the  Belgian 
government  which  rules  the  Belgian  Kongo. 


THE  KONGO  AND   ITS   BASIN 


227 


H^^ 

;^iHft 

"We  pass  Banana  Point,  .  . 


The  country  is  flat  and  covered  with  woods.  There  are 
many  creeks  flowing  into  the  river.  We  pass  large  islands 
and  numerous  sand  banks. 

We  can  see  Boma  long  before  we  come  to  it  The  town 
has  two  parts :  one,  consisting  of  warehouses  and  other 
business  buildings,  Hes  close  to  the  water ;  and  the  other, 
containing  the  public  offices,  churches,  stores,  schools,  and 
homes  of  the  foreigners,  is  on  the  hills  farther  back.  A 
tramway  with  a  little  steam  engine  and  open  cars  runs 
from  one  town  to  the  other. 

Our  ship  anchors  at  a  long,  iron  pier,  and  Belgian  officers 
in  uniform  come  upon  board,  while  black-faced,  barelegged 
policemen  in  blue  Zouave  suits  and  w^hite  helmets  stay  on 
the  pier  to  keep  back  the  natives. 

We  land  and  walk  to  a  hotel  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city. 
Black  Kongo  boys  carry  our  baggage  up  to  our  rooms; 


228 


AFRICA 


they  do  not  understand  English,  and  we  have  to  make  signs 
to  get  what  we  want. 

Later  we  visit  the  Governor  General  and  his  officials  to 
learn  about  the  country  and  to  plan  our  tour.  The  greater 
part  of  the  basin  of  the  Kongo  is  now  a  dependency  of 
Belgium  in  Europe.     It  is  known  as  the  Belgian  Kongo ; 


m^ 

■^M 

^ 

^^^^     -  --^-  -"iw  ■"'^ 

'  '  * 

^  ''m 

'  t^^^fl^^ 

■  ■--■  1 

1     H 

[I 

^ 

m 

'sa*^ 

A  Belgian  and  native  soldiers. 

and  it  has  been  divided  up  into  fourteen  districts,  each  of 
which  has  a  ruling  commissioner  sent  out  from  Belgium, 
and  some  native  and  foreign  soldiers  to  keep  the  people  in 
order. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  twenty  milHons  in  the  Bel- 
gian Kongo.  The  people  are  more  intelligent  and  more 
civilized  than  the  negroes  along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  and 


THE  KONGO   AND   ITS   BASIN 


229 


they  differ  from  them  in  color  and  features.  Most  of  them 
have  brown  skins,  and  some  have  straight  noses  and  small 
hands  and  feet.  They  are  usually  tall  and  fine-looking  ; 
some  have  wavy  hair  while  others  have  little  curls  like 
wool.  They  are  Bantus,  a  mixture  of  the  negro  races  and 
the  races  we  saw  in  northern  Africa  which  long  ago  crossed 
over  from  Asia  and  gradually  populated  this  country. 


Governor  General's  house  at  Boma. 

The  Bantus  are  to  be  found  about  the  great  lakes  and 
in  the  valley  of  the  Kongo.  They  also  live  in  most  parts 
of  southern  Africa,  except  in  the  southwest,  where  are  the 
little  black-skinned  Hottentots  and  Bushmen.  They  are 
divided  up  into  tribes,  ranging  in  number  from  a  few  hun- 
dred families  to  many  thousands,  each  ruled  by  a  king  or 
chief.  Each  tribe  has  its  own  country,  and  many  have 
villages. 

The    Bantus   have  various  habits  and  customs.     Some 


230  AFRICA 

are  peaceful  and  industrious,  and  others  are  warlike  and 
bad.  All  are  superstitious,  believing  in  witches  and  spirits. 
■  Everybody  has  his  fetish,  and  every  tribe  its  witch  doctor. 
Many  Bantus  are  cannibals  ;  nearly  all  have  at  times  held 
slaves,  and  slavery  is  still  common  in  some  parts  of  the 
country.  The  different  tribes  make  war  upon  one  another, 
so  that  their  villages  are  hke  armed  camps  with  the  people 
always  on  the  outlook  for  an  enemy. 

These  people  speak  a  language  far  different  from  that 
of  the  natives  of  Morocco,  Algeria,  and  Egypt ;  a  language 
which  is  much  the  same  throughout  the  whole  Bantu  race, 
although  each  tribe  has  its  own  dialect. 

The  Bantus  of  the  Kongo  valley  to  some  extent  govern 
themselves,  but  each  district  is  also  under  the  control  of  a 
Belgian  commissioner  and  his  agents  and  officials. 

The  Governor  General  at  Boma  gives  us  letters  to  the 
various  commissioners,  and  by  his  advice  we  take  one  of 
the  government  steamers  to  the  port  of  Matadi.  Here  is 
a  railroad  which  the  Belgians  have  built  about  the  cataracts 
to  carry  passengers  and  freight  between  the  ocean  and  the 
vast  system  of  navigable  waters  which  extends  from  Stan- 
ley Pool  to  the  different  parts  of  the  Kongo  basin.  The 
road  is  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long ;  but  in  pro- 
portion to  its  length  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  railroads 
of  the  world,  for  it  opens  up  the  central  part  of  the  African 
continent. 

Our  ride  is  most  picturesque.  The  cars  are  open  at  the 
sides ;  we  go  slowly  and  can  see  almost  as  well  as  though 
we  were  traveHng  in  a  carriage.  Much  of  the  track  is  far 
back  from  the  river;  and  the  road  curves  this  way  and  that 
as  it  climbs  the  hills.     Now  we  cross  a  great  chasm  matted 


LIFE   UPON   THE   KONGO  23 1 

with  jungle,  now  pass  through  forests  where  the  trees  are 
bound  together  with  vines,  and  now  are  so  close  to  the 
Kongo  that  we  can  see  the  mighty  river  boiling  along 
through  the  gorges  on  its  way  to  the  ocean.  At  last  we 
reach  the  plateau  and  then  drop  to  Leopoldville,  under  the 
shadow  of  Mount  Leopold  (le'6-pold),  at  the  southwestern 
corner  of  Stanley  Pool.  There  are  half  a  dozen  great  river 
steamers  at  the  wharves,  and  we  learn  that  we  can  get 
ships  which  will  carry  us  far  up  the  Kongo. 

35.     LIFE   UPON   THE   KONGO 

WE  have  been  traveling  for  weeks  upon  the  Kongo 
River,  steaming  along  from  village  to  village,  now 
stopping  t'o  visit  a  market,  and  now  making  long  excur- 
sions into  the  country  to  study  the  people. 

After  leaving  Leopoldville  we  were  several  hours  cross- 
ing Stanley  Pool.  It  is  a  great  lake,  right  in  the  course 
of  the  Kongo,  twenty-five  miles  long  and  fifteen  miles 
wide,  with  many  islands.  Some  of  the  islands  are  floating ; 
they  are  made  of  reeds  and  grass,  with  roots  so  firmly 
knotted  together  that  birds  and  even  men  can  stand  upon 
them.  They  have  been  torn  from  the  mainland  by  the 
current,  and  are  moving  on  down  toward  the  sea.  Other 
islands  are  fixed,  and  upon  some  of  them  are  hippopotamuses 
which  have  swum  across  from  the  mainland. 

As  we  go  on  up  the  Kongo  in  our  comfortable  steamer, 
the  river  widens  and  narrows.  We  are  often  close  to  the 
shore,  and  can  observe  the  strange  vegetable  and  animal 
life  upon  its  banks.     There  are  many  alligators  lying  like 


232 


AFRICA 


brown  logs  on  the  edge  of  the  water ;  near  them  stand 
hippopotamuses  which  yawn  at  us,  showing  their  great 
teeth,  and  now  and  then  we  see  a  rose-pink  baby  hippo- 
potamus on  the  back  of  its  mother,  which  is  swimming 
with  Httle  more  than  her  nose  out  of  the  water. 

There  are  water  birds  of  all  kinds.     We  see  storks  and 
wild  geese,  and  now  and  then   shoot  at  a  flock  of  gray 


Natives  of  Stanley  Pool. 

parrots  as  they  fly  over  our  boat,  whistling  and  screaming. 
There  are  parrots  in  the  oil-palm  trees  on  the  banks,  and 
at  one  of  the  villages  a  boy  brings  several  to  the  steamer 
for  sale.  The  birds  are  not  so  fine  as  the  bright-colored 
parrots  of  South  America  and  Australia,  but  they  have  a 
variety  of  notes  and  whistle  most  beautifully. 

There  are  many  other  birds,  the  names  of  which  we  do 
not  know.  There  are  cuckoos,  parrots,  and  woodpeckers, 
hornbills,  large  and  small,  tree  ducks,  great  kingfishers, 


LIFE   UPON  THE   KONGO 


233 


giant  herons,  eagles,  hawks,  vultures,  and  enormous  bats. 
There  are  pigeons  with  greenish  gray  bodies  and  plaintain 
birds  of  bright  blue  with  yellowish  breasts ;  and  strangest 
of  all,  little  crocodile  birds  which  play  about  the  crocodiles 
on  the  banks,  perching 


^""mm 


upon  them  and  warn- 
ing them  when  any  one 
comes  near. 

And  then  the  animals! 
We  never  get  tired  of 
looking  at  the  hippo- 
potamuses, especially 
the  babies,  which  are 
bright  pink,  and  at  the 
monkeys  which  hang 
over  the  water  chatter- 
ing at  us  from  the  trees. 
Now  we  see  an  ele- 
phant bathing  in  the 
river  by  moonlight,  and 
now  catch  sight  of  a 
red  river-hog  or  red 
buffalo  peeping  at  us  through  the 

The  mosquitoes  are  terribly  troublesome,  and  when  we 
take  a  swim  in  the  Kongo  there  are  horrible  little  black 
flies  which  attack  us  in  clouds,  settling  on  every  spot  of 
bare  skin,  sucking  our  blood.  There  are  ants  as  fierce  as 
those  we  saw  on  the  upper  Niger,  and  every  night  we  go 
over  our  feet  carefully,  searching  for  jiggers.  We  have 
to  look  out  for  snakes  and  centipeds,  and  also  for  wasps 
and  bees.      There    are    many   beautiful    locusts,    bright- 


Kongo  chief, 
one:  o:rass  on  the  banks. 


234  AFRICA 

colored  beetles,  and  butterflies  of  the  most  gorgeous  de- 
scription. 

The  country  changes  from  time  to  time  as  we  go  on- 
ward, and  our  journeys  on  shore  are  full  of  new  and 
strange  things.  Now  we  pass  through  groves  where  wild 
flowers  are  blooming  under  the  trees,  and  now  see 
woods  bound  together  into  a  jungle  by  long  vines;  there 
are  orchids  growing  from  the  branches  and  trunks  of  the 
trees,  and  many  strange  climbing  plants. 

Much  of  the  country  is  treeless,  but  covered  with  grass 
so  high  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  travel  there  than  through 
the  forests.  The  stalks  grow  so  thick  that  one  can  not 
see  far,  and  the  blades  are  so  sharp  that  they  scratch  our 
faces.  The  stalks  are  often  twelve  feet  in  height ;  so  that, 
as  we  walk  along  the  paths,  we  seem  to  be  in  a  narrow 
aisle  walled  with  green  on  each  side.  Wherever  the  grass 
is  bent  over  it  twists  itself  around  our  ankles,  and  when  it 
rains  the  blades  become  loaded  with  water,  which  drops 
down  upon  us  as  we  push  our  way  through.  The  path 
becomes  a  ditch,  and  we  walk  in  a  little  stream,  splashing 
our  way,  whipped  by  the  great  stalks  at  every  turn. 

Such  paths  serve  as  the  highroads  of  the  Kongo  valley, 
and  it  is  along  roads  like  this  that  we  make  our  way  over 
the  country  from  village  to  village.  Almost  the  whole 
continent  is  covered  with  footpaths,  and  one  can  go  every- 
where by  following  these  narrow,  winding  ways  through 
forest  and  plain.  The  natives  travel  on  foot,  and  the 
myriad  paths  have  been  worn  down  by  the  bare  feet  of 
thousands  who  month  by  month  and  year  by  year  have, 
for  generations,  been  going  over  the  same  ground,  single 
file.      The  forest  paths  are  more  winding  than  those  of 


LIFE   UPON  THE   KONGO  235 

the  open  country,  and  turns  are  made  to  avoid  fallen  trees 
and  other  obstacles  ;  but  they  are  everywhere  narrow  and 
regularly  traveled. 

We  walk  carefully,  as  we  go  along  single  file,  looking 
out  for  quagmires  and  pitfalls  as  we  approach  the  villages, 
sometimes  prodding  the  leaves  on  the  road  to  see  if  the 
ground  is  solid.  The  native  tribes  are  always  warring 
upon  one  another.  The  villages  are  protected  by  stock- 
ades, and  along  the  roads  leading  to  them  sharpened  sticks 
dipped  in  poison  are  stuck  in  the  ground  and  covered  with 
leaves  which  look  as  though  they  had  fallen  from  the  trees 
near  by.  These  sticks  will  run  into  one's  foot  if  he  steps 
upon  them,  and  the  poison  is  so  strong  that  a  scratch 
causes  death. 

The  people  are  most  interesting.  We  come  upon  new 
tribes  every  week,  and  they  vary  so  much  in  customs  and 
features  that  we  despair  of  remembering  them  all.  Some 
are  as  black  as  the  negroes  of  the  Gulf  Coast,  and  look  not 
unlike  them.  Some  are  dark  brown  and  others  almost 
yellow.  They  all  belong  to  this  Bantu  race,  which  we 
shall  meet  with  everywhere  from  now  on.  Many  of  the 
men  have  scars  on  their  faces  and  other  parts  of  the  body. 
The  scars  are  different  in  different  tribes,  and  one  can  tell 
to  what  family  a  person  belongs  by  his  scars. 

Many  of  the  people  go  almost  naked,  and  some  have 
little  more  than  a  strip  of  cotton  about  the  waist.  The 
chiefs  of  some  tribes  wear  enormous  straw  hats  shaped 
like  a  stovepipe,  waist  cloths,  and  jewelry  of  brass  or 
shells.  The  women  have  short  petticoats  of  grass,  which 
stand  out  from  the  body ;  in  other  tribes  they  wear  bark 
cloth  or  bright-colored  cottons. 

CARP.  AFRICA IC 


236  AFRICA 

All  grease  themselves  with  oil,  and  put  up  their  hair 
with  oil  and  clay.  Each  tribe  has  its  own  way  of  dressing 
the  hair.  In  some,  the  women  and  sometimes  the  men 
wear  it  in  a  great  horn  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and  in 
others  they  have  horns  of  hair  over  the  forehead.  Some 
twist  it  on  fine  wires  so  that  it  stands  out  in  every  direction 
like  snakes,  while  others  braid  it  so  that  it  falls  down  in 
little  tails  over  the  cheeks.  They  tie  cowrie  shells, 
feathers,  and  other  things  into  the  hair,  and  put  it  up 
in  knots  of  all  shapes.  Some  of  the  men  shave  their 
heads  all  over,  or  in  spots. 

All  are  fond  of  jewelry.  Both  men  and  women  wear 
bracelets  and  anklets  of  brass  beads  or  shells.  The 
women  often  have  heavy  brass  collars  around  their  necks ; 
some  have  sticks  or  grass  stems  stuck  through  holes  in 
their  noses  and  ears,  and  almost  every  one  wears  a  charm 
of  some  kind  to  keep  off  the  evil  spirits. 

We  spend  much  time  in  the  villages  along  the  banks 
of  the  Kongo.  There  are  thousands  of  them  scattered 
through  the  great  basin,  some  containing  but  a  few  fami- 
lies and  others  large  enough  to  be  called  cities.  The  vil- 
lages are  much  like  those  we  have  already  seen  in  our 
travels,  being  made  up  of  round  or  square  huts  thatched 
with  straw.  Many  of  the  huts  have  conical  roofs,  and  in 
some  cases  the  roofs  extend  out  over  the  front,  covering 
an  open  place  where  the  people  sit  and  smoke  or  sleep 
during  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  where  in  the  evening 
they  gossip  and  chat. 

These  people  have  dances.  Every  town  has  its  mu- 
sicians, and  they  often  sing  and  play  far  into  the  night. 
They  live  chiefly  for  the  hour.     They  get  up  about  dawn 


LIFE   UPON  THE  KONGO 


237 


and  have  breakfast.  Then  the  women  go  to  their  work 
in  the  fields,  and  the  men  start  out  to  look  up  their  bird 
snares  and  fish  traps,  or  they  may  have  an  elephant  pit 
to  keep  track  of.  They  must  also  be  on  guard  against 
hostile  neighbors.  Some  may  work  at  their  trades,  and 
both  women  and  men  start  out  early  to  carry  vegetables 
or  goods  to  the  nearest  market.  At  noon  every  one  who 
is  near  enough  home  comes  in  for  several  hours'  rest 
and  then  goes  back  to  work.  Toward  night  they  eat  the 
second  or  chief  meal  of  the  day,  although  they  may  take 
a  snack  or  so  between  times.  The  evenings  are  usually 
spent  in  chatting,  dancing,  or  other  amusements. 


There  are  little  black  children  everywhere." 


There  are  little  black  children  everywhere.  We  see 
them  at  their  games.  The  babies  have  rattles.  The  girls 
play  with  rude  dolls.  They  sit  on  the  ground  and  make 
mud  pies  and  play  at  cooking  and  housekeeping.     Even 


238 


AFRICA 


the   small   boys   on   the   banks  of   the    Kongo    are   good 

swimmers  ;  they  learn  also  to  fish,  to  snare  birds,  and  to 
shoot  with  bows  and  arrows.     They 
::^>  gather  round  us  as  we  go  through 

the  villages  and  wonder  at  our 
strange  clothing.  At  one  place  we 
let  a  boy  hear  our  watch  tick,  and 
he  says  the  noise  must  come  from 
an  animal  inside  the  case. 

These  people  live  simply.     Their 
huts  have  but  little  furniture.     Only 
^'  the  chiefs  and  the  rich  have  beds. 

The  others  sleep  on   the   ground,   often  using   a  wooden 

pillow.     This  is  a  block  hollowed  out  like  a  bow  so  that  it 

fits  under  the  neck,  raising  the  head  from  the  ground  and 

keeping  the  gorgeous  head- 
dress from  mussing. 

There  is  sometimes  a  fire 

hole  in  the  center  of  the 

hut,  the  smoke    of   which 

keeps  away  the  mosquitoes. 

The  cooking  fires  are  often 

built    outside,    and     some 

houses  have   also  cooking 

sheds. 

In  many  of  the  villages 

we  see  what  look  like  great 

barrels  covered  with  grass  ; 

they  stand  upon  posts  with 

thatched  roofs  above  them.     Those  are  granaries  in  which 

the    corn  and    peanuts  and  other  such  things  are  stored 


.-tIv«-^H, 


the  grain  is  stored 

in  bags  tied  to  the  roof." 


LIFE  UPON  THE   KONGO  239 

until  needed.  They  are  high  up  ;  to  be  safe  from  the  rats, 
snakes,  and  other  vermin.  In  other  places  the  grain  is 
stored  in  bags  tied  to  the  roof. 

The  largest  house  in  the  town  usually  belongs  to  the 
chief.  It  may  have  smaller  huts  about  it,  —  the  homes 
of  his  wives  and  slaves,  —  and  sometimes  a  pile  of  ivory 
tusks  from  elephants  trapped  by  the  natives. 

In  many  villages  there  are  mechanics,  and  we  learn 
that  they  make  goods  for  sale.  One  town  is  noted  for 
its  pottery,  another  for  its  fish  nets,  and  a  third  for  swords, 
knives,  hoes,  and  farm  tools.  Nearly  every  village  has 
its  blacksmith  shop,  which  is  one  of  the  busiest  places  in 
town.  The  shop  is  an  open  shed  with  a  thatched  roof, 
the  bellows  a  rude  box  of  wood  and  skin,  and  the  anvil 
a  block  of  iron  about  as  large  as  a  paving  brick. 

These  people  smelt  iron  with  charcoal,  and  shape  it 
with  rude  hammers.  The  men  are  noted  for  trapping 
and  fishing.  In  some  tribes  they  think  it  beneath  them 
to  till  the  ground,  for  that  is  woman's  work,  and  so  they 
spend  most  of  their  time  in  the  chase  or  in  making  war 
upon  their  neighbors. 

Fighting  is  so  common  in  the  Kongo  valley  that  almost 
every  village  has  a  fence  of  rude  posts  about  it.  The 
posts  are  sharpened  at  the  top  so  that  it  would  be  hard 
to  climb  over  them  ;  they  are  set  close  and  bound .  to- 
gether with  vines.  There  is  often  a  ditch  outside  the 
stockade. 

The  Kongo  women  have  plenty  of  work.  They  take 
care  of  the  houses  and  do  all  the  cooking.  They  culti- 
vate the  gardens  outside  the  towns,  and  gather  the  corn 
and  store  it  in  the  granaries.      In  some  places  they  are 


240  AFRICA 

little  more  than  slaves.  They  are  bought  and  sold,  and 
are  often  cruelly  treated.  In  many  parts  of  the  Kongo 
slavery  is  common.  Some  of  the  far-away  tribes  are  still 
cannibals.  When  such  tribes  are  at  war,  they  expect  to 
feast  on  their  captives,  and  a  not  uncommon  taunt  to  an 
enemy  is  the  exclamation,  "  You  shall  rest  in  my  stomach 
to-morrow." 

Many  of  the  Kongo  people  have  some  idea  of  God, 
but  all  are  superstitious.  They  fear  witches,  and  believe 
that  their  charms  and  images  will  work  good  or  evil. 
Everybody  supposes  his  happiness  or  misery  depends 
largely  upon  his  charm  or  fetish ;  and  he  who  is  success- 
ful is  thought  to  have  a  better  fetish  than  others. 

These  ideas  are  now  passing  away.  Missionaries  are 
working  in  different  parts  of  the  Kongo  basin,  and  they 
tell  us  that  many  of  the  black  boys  and  girls  are  becom- 
ing civilized. 

Moreover,  slavery  and  cannibalism  are  being  put  down 
by  the  foreign  governments.  Now  when  a  man  dies  the 
people  are  not  permitted  to  bury  his  wives  and  servants 
alive  with  him  that  he  may  have  them  in  the  next  world, 
as  was  the  custom  in  the  past. 

The  Belgian  government  has  already  established  schools 
where  native  children  learn  trades  and  are  taught  reading 
and  writing.  We  see  school  children  frequently  as  we  go 
up  the  valley,  and  find  that  some  of  them  even  know  a 
little  geography.  They  have  learned  that  the  earth  is 
round.  Their  fathers  thought  it  was  flat,  and  that  the 
home  of  the  white  man  was  under  the  sea,  because  the 
ships  going  away  from  the  coast  seemed  to  sink  slowly 
down  into  the  water  and  those  coming  in  to  rise  up  out 


TRADE  AND   COMMERCE   OF  THE   KONGO 


241 


of  it,  for  the  masts  were  first  seen  and  then  the  hulls. 
The  little  black  boys  are  now  being  taught  that  this  is 
one  of  the  best  proofs  that  the  earth  is  a  globe. 


36.  TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  OF  THE  KONGO 

DURING  our  voyage  up  the  Kongo  we  observe  its 
great  value  as  a  commercial  highway.  It  is  the  only 
road  by  which  the  products  of  this  vast  region  can  get  out 
to  the  ocean ;  and  some  large  European  trading  companies 
have  established  factories  and  warehouses  upon  its  banks. 


A  trading  factory  on  the  Kongo. 

Goods  are  taken  from  these  stations  to  all  parts  of  the 
Kongo  basin,  and  the  native  produce  brought  back.  In 
many  places  this  work  is  done  by  porters  who  carry  the 
goods  on  their  heads,  marching  single  file  for  days  along 
the  narrow  African  paths.  In  others  the  goods  are  car- 
ried in  native  boats  on  the  streams.     Upon  the  Kongo 


242  AFRICA 

and  its  chief  tributaries  steamers  are  always  moving  from 
station  to  station,  leaving  foreign  goods  to  be  sent  out, 
and  taking  on  cargoes  for  the  railroad  at  Stanley  Pool. 

Before  that  road  was  built  everything  had  to  be  carried 
on  the  heads  of  men  past  the  cataracts  to  the  navigable 
river  below.  Now  all  goes  by  train  to  Matadi,  where  it 
is  transshipped  to  the  steamers  of  the  lower  Kongo  or  to 
the  great  ocean  steamers  which  call  at  Matadi  and  Boma. 

There  are  now  steamship  lines  connecting  the  Kongo 
with  Antwerp,  Hamburg,  Rotterdam,  and  Liverpool,  and 
the  foreign  commerce  is  rapidly  increasing.  It  already 
amounts  to  many  millions  of  dollars,  and  when  the  inte- 
rior is  further  opened  up  by  railway,  it  will  be  greater  still. 

The  most  valuable  product  which  the  Kongo  now  gives 
to  the  world  is  rubber,  after  which  come  palm  nuts  and 
palm  oil  and  ivory  in  the  shape  of  elephant  tusks. 
Other  exports  are  peanuts  and  coffee  and  copal,  a  gum 
that  is  used  to  make  varnish.  Tobacco  is  grown  in  all  the 
native  villages,  and  it  may  become  an  important  article 
of  trade.  The  Kongo  rubber  comes  chiefly  from  vines, 
while  that  of  the  Amazon,  the  best  rubber  of  the  world, 
is  from  forest  trees.  The  vines  are  tapped  or  cut,  and 
the  miikUke  sap  oozes  out ;  it  is  boiled  in  iron  pans  and 
made  into  great  flat  cakes  for  export. 

In  exchange  for  their  products  the  natives  take  food, 
bright-colored  cottons,  hardware,  arms,  and  gunpowder. 
We  shall  see  these  various  things  in  the  markets,  which 
are  held  once  every  four  or  eight  days  in  almost  all 
parts  of  the  Kongo  basin.  The  African  week  is  different 
from  ours.  It  has  but  four  days,  and  market  day  is 
considered  the  most  important  of   all. 


TRADE  AND  COMMERCE  OF  THE  KONGO      243 

Suppose  we  visit  a  market  and  see  tiow  the  Africans  do 
business  at  home.  They  are  great  traders  and  will  go 
miles  to  buy  or  sell.  Thousands  of  people  are  often  to  be 
found  in  one  market,  some  of  whom  have  traveled  days 
for  the  purpose. 

We  hear  the  din  of  the  buying  and  selling  long  before 
we  reach  the  market.  It  is  situated  in  a  grove  of  shade 
trees  out  in  the  country.  There  are  hundreds  of  black  men, 
women,  and  children,  scantily  clad,  moving  about  under  the 
branches.  Some  are  sitting  on  the  ground  with  pots  and 
baskets  before  them,  others  have  their  wares  piled  upon  a 
carpet  of  leaves,  and  still  others  have  rude  tents  or  shelters 
to  keep  off  the  sun.  Some  are  bending  over,  arranging 
their  merchandise;  some  are  carrying  it  on  their  heads 
from  place  to  place ;  and  some  are  going  to  and  fro,  sam- 
pling the  wares  and  buying  goods  to  take  home.  There 
are  many  women  among  the  purchasers,  and  not  a  few 
have  babies  tied  to  their  backs  or  sitting  astride  their  hips, 
as  African  babies  are  usually  carried. 

How  noisy  it  is  !  The  whole  market  seems  to  be  shout- 
ing at  once.  The  people  scold  as  they  buy;  and  the 
women  fairly  scream  at  each  other.  Those  peddlers  with 
goods  on  their  heads  are  crying  their  wares.  That  man 
over  there  is  teUing  a  story,  and  the  women  about  him  are 
laughing.  See,  they  have  thrown  back  their  heads  and 
their  white  teeth  show  out  against  their  dark  faces.  Step 
aside  for  that  man  with  the  sheep  on  his  head !  You 
must  not  get  angry  if  you  are  jostled  here,  for  these  peo- 
ple do  not  consider  it  proper  to  quarrel  on  market  days. 

Strolling  about  with  our  guide,  we  make  our  way  from 
one    class    of    peddlers   to   another.      The   market   is   so 


244 


AFRICA 


divided  that  each  kind  of  merchandise  has  its  own 
quarter.  Here  they  are  selling  tobacco  and  kola  nuts, 
there,  peanuts  and  bananas,  while  farther  on  are  sweet 
potatoes,  manioc,  cabbages,  pumpkins,  and  Indian  corn. 
We  fill  our  pockets  with  peanuts,  and  each  of  us  buys  a 
stick  of  sugar  cane  to  eat  as  we  move  onward. 


^ 

(ifflVi, 

i 

':  1*: 

m^lM 

Ji  .:::li 

■  'i^V'---  '* 

t: 

N^^^ 

f  V 

i^e^^m_ 

^m  ^^m  1 

"What  are  those  round  dumplings  piled  up  on  the  ground?" 

What  are  those  round  dumplings  piled  up  on  the 
ground  ?  They  look  like  loaves  of  unbaked  dough.  That 
is  the  chief  bread  of  the  Kongo.  It  is  made  of  manioc, 
a  root  much  like  the  sweet  potato,  only  larger.  The 
manioc  is  first  mashed  to  a  pulp  and  then  soaked  in 
running  water  for  twenty-four  hours  to  wash  out  a  bit- 
ter acid  contained  in  it.     After  this  the  pulp  is  allowed 


TRADE  AND   COMMERCE  OF  THE  KONGO  245 

to  ferment,  and  then  is  mixed  into  a  stiff  paste.  When 
cooked,  it  is  sUced  up  and  fried  in  pahii  oil,  butter,  or 
peanut  oil.  It  now  looks  and  tastes  like  sour  dough. 
It  is  very  nutritious. 

In  one  quarter  of  the  market  are  the  butchers  with  fresh 
meat,  and  near  them  are  live  sheep  and  goats  and  also 
pigs,  chickens,  and  ducks.  The  fowls  are  kept  in  wicker 
cages,  and  beside  them  are  fresh  eggs  in  finely  plaited 
baskets.  The  sheep  are  beautiful  animals,  but  I  venture 
to  say  you  never  saw  such  sheep  before.  They  are 
covered  with  fine  long  hair.  Is  this  not  a  strange  country 
where  the  men,  women,  and  children  have  wool  on  their 
heads  and  the  sheep  grow  beautiful  hair  ? 

We  buy  spear  heads  and  knives  of  native  make  from 
the  blacksmiths,  who  show  us  also  collars  and  bracelets 
and  anklets  of  brass.  Some  of  the  women  about  us  wear 
brass  collars,  each  of  which  weighs  many  pounds ;  they  are 
welded  on  to  their  necks,  and  ha\'e  to  be  broken  before 
they  can  be  removed.  In  another  quarter  we  buy  pieces 
of  the  native  cloth  made  in  the  villages  ;  we  notice  also 
beautiful  basketwork,  fish  traps,  and  meal  sieves.  Near 
by  are  women  selling  pottery  made  of  red  clay,  and  a  man, 
who  has  some  wooden  pillows,  offers  them  to  us  at  a  low 
price. 

But  few  foreign  goods  are  sold  in  the  market.  We  are 
some  distance  back  from  the  river,  and  such  things  are 
rare  and  costly.  Still  there  are  bright-colored  cottons 
from  England,  knives  from  Germany,  and  gunpowder 
from  Belgium.  Here,  men  are  trading  gay  handker- 
chiefs and  glass  beads  for  india  rubber,  and  there,  they 
are  trading  brass  rods  for  all  sorts  of  native  goods. 


246  AFRICA 

We  observe  that  the  business  is  largely  a  matter  of 
barter,  and  that  no  money  passes.  The  several  articles 
are  traded  one  for  the  other,  sometimes  at  a  valuation  of 
so  many  brass  rods  for  each.  Brass  rods  have,  for  a  long 
time,  been  used  as  money  in  many  parts  of  the  Kongo 
basin.  Different  markets  have  different  articles  which 
pass  as  currency,  and  goods  and  money  vary  in  price 
according  to  the  fashion  and  taste  of  the  people.  In 
one  village  blue  beads  will  buy  more  than  white  beads, 
and  in  another  the  standard  of  value  is  red  cotton  hand- 
kerchiefs. In  some  markets  cowrie  shells,  such  as  we 
saw  along  the  Niger,  are  commonly  used,  while  still 
farther  on  bright-colored  calicoes,  needles,  and  pins,  brass 
tacks,  or  pieces  of  wire  will  buy  what  we  want.  One 
of  the  most  valuable  things  sold  everywhere  is  salt.  In 
this  market  a  pint  cup  is  the  wholesale  salt  measure,  and 
we  are  assured  that  a  very  little  salt  is  a  fair  price  for  a 
slave  boy  or  girl. 

<X3>^00 — 

37.     IN  THE   GREAT   AFRICAN    FOREST  — 
PYGMIES 

TRAVELING  on  up  the  Kongo,  we  enter  the  great 
African  forest,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  terrible 
on  earth.  It  covers  the  whole  region  of  the  upper  Kongo, 
extending  southward  to  the  watershed  of  the  Zambezi, 
northward  to  that  of  the  Nile,  and  eastward  almost  to 
Lakes  Tanganyika  and  Victoria.  It  is  as  big  as  eight 
States  the  size  of  Ohio  and  is  about  forty  times  as  large 
as  Massachusetts.  The  region  is  so  vast  that  we  can  hope 
to  explore  but  a  small  part  of  it,  and  we  confine  our  tour 


IN  THE  GREAT  AFRICAN   FOREST  — PYGMIES  247 

to  the  river  and  to  short  excursions  off  into  the  woods. 
Only  a  small  part  of  this  forest  has  ever  been  trodden 
by  white  men.  When  Henry  M.  Stanley,  the  famous 
explorer,  crossed  Africa,  he  traveled  through  it,  and  other 
explorers  have  visited  parts  here  and  there. 

We  can  learn  something  of  the  nature  of  the  forest  as 
we  move  slowly  along,  close  to  the  banks  of  the  Kongo. 
The  dense  trees  come  right  down  to  the  river  and  ex- 
tend out  from  it  for  hundreds  of  miles.  The  trees  are  so 
thick,  and  their  branches  so  interwoven,  that  they  shut  out 
the  sun.  We  can  see  inland  but  a  few  yards  from  the 
banks,  and  when  we  go  off  into  the  midst  of  the  forest  we 
find  it  like  twilight  at  noonday.  The  trees  are  of  all  sizes, 
some  of  them  being  almost  two  hundred  feet  high.  They 
are  bound  together  with  ropes  and  cables  of  vines,  which 
wind  about  them  like  snakes  and  hang  down  in  long 
strings. 

It  is  hot  everywhere.  The  breeze  is  shut  out  and  a 
warm  vapor  rises  from  the  moist  ground.  Many  of  the 
trees  wear  a  thick  coat  of  moss  and  some  have  orchids  and 
other  air  plants  hanging  to  them.  Here  is  one  which  has 
been  struck  by  lightning  ;  those  saplings  beside  it  have  been 
broken  down  by  an  elephant  herd  which  has  crashed  its 
way  through.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  path  are  trees 
with  great  balls  of  gum  oozing  out  of  holes  which  the 
birds  have  pecked. 

The  ground  is  covered  with  fallen  branches  and  dead 
trees.  Our  feet  sink  into  the  decaying  vegetation ;  we 
soon  grow  weary  and  sit  down  to  rest  on  the  dead  trunks 
which  lie  all  about,  us.  We  do  not  sit  long.  The  decayed 
wood   is    full   of    ants    and    other    insects,    which    attack 


248 


AFRICA 


every  inch  of  bare  skin,  biting  us  terribly.  We  have  to 
look  out  for  the  wasps  overhead ;  and  we  soon  learn  that 
the  forest  is  alive  with  mosquitoes,  flies  of  all  kinds,  and 
beetles  and  worms  without  number.  We  examine  our  feet 
every  night,  seeking  for  jiggers,  and  at  times  the  ants  bite 
us  so  that  our  skin  stings  as  though  whipped  by  sharp 
nettles. 

There  are  many  monkeys  and  squirrels.  There  are 
wild  pigs  and  wild  buffaloes,  herds  of  elephants  and  bush 
antelopes,  wild  cats  and  rats  of  im- 
mense size.  At  night  the  air  is  alive 
with  bats  and  in  the  daytime  strange 
birds  fly  through  the  trees. 

But  what  kind  of  people  live  in 
this  great  African  forest  ?  There  are 
many  tribes  much  like  those  we  saw 
in  the  lower  parts  of  the  valley ;  and 
there  are  others  so  strange  that  if  we 
did  not  see  them  ourselves  we  could 
hardly  believe  they  exist. 

Have  you  ever  heard  of  the  pyg- 
mies ?  They  are  a  race  of  little  peo- 
ple found  in  different  parts  of  Africa, 
and  especially  in  this  great  Kongo 
forest.  Pygmy  men  and  women  are 
not  larger  than  fourteen-year-old  American  children,  and 
the  boys  and  girls  of  our  age  will  not  reach  to  our  shoul- 
ders. Many  of  the  women  are  under  four  feet  in  height, 
and  some  are  only  a  little  more  than  three  feet.  Still  they 
are  well  formed,  and  look  like  other  men  and  women. 
Some   pygmy   men   have  beards,   and   many   of  the  little 


Have  you  ever  heard 
of  the  pygmies  ?  " 


IN  THE  GREAT   AFRICAN   FOREST  — PYGMIES  249 

women  go  about  carrying  their  babies  on  their  backs  or 
astride  their  hips. 

The  pygmies  are  of  different  types.  Some  tribes  have 
Ught  brown  skins,  with  hair  almost  red,  while  others  are  as 
black  as  our  boots,  with  black  hair.  The  black  pygmies 
are  usually  the  taller,  although  they  are  not  so  good  look- 
ing as  those  of  lighter  color,  having  heavy  jaws,  deep-set 
eyes,  and  flat  noses.  The  lighter  ones  have  large  round 
eyes,  round  faces,  well-formed  figures,  and  small  feet  and 
hands,  with  long  slender  fingers. 

These  people  wear  but  little  clothing.  The  men  have 
only  a  strip  of  cloth  about  the  waist,  and  the  women  a 
short  petticoat  of  leaves  or  an  apron  of  bark.  Some  pierce 
holes  in  their  upper  lips  and  put  porcupine  quills  and  the 
teeth  of  various  animals  in  them. 

The  pygmies  are  in  a  low  state  of  civilization,  and  live 
more  hke  beasts  than  men.  They  seldom  clear  the  land, 
and  have  no  farms  or  gardens.  They  have  little  villages, 
going  out  to  hunt  and  trap  and  dig  roots  and  other  things 
for  food.  Their  villages  are  usually  not  far  away  from  the 
settlements  of  other  tribes,  and  in  such  localities  the 
pygmies  often  steal  corn,  tobacco,  and  bananas  from  their 
neighbors.  If  their  thefts  are  not  noticed,  they  may 
come  back  and  leave  skins  or  ivory  to  pay  for  the  food 
they  have  taken. 

These  villages  are  different  in  different  tribes.  Some  of 
the  little  people  Uve  in  caves,  others  put  up  shelters  to 
serve  for  a  short  time  only,  and  move  about  from  place  to 
place.  Some  tribes  arrange  their  dwellings  in  a  circle 
around  a  cleared  space  in  which  the  chief's  house  stands ; 
and  others  build  their  huts  in  rows. 


250 


AFRICA 


The  ordinary  hut  is  seldom  more  that  four  feet  in  height 
and  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  often  made  in 
oblong  shape,  being  formed  of  branches  stuck  into  the 
ground  and  tied  together  at  the  top,  and  then  thatched 
with  leaves  or  grass.  The  doors  are  so  low  that  the 
pygmies  have  to  crawl  in. 


"They  are  expert  trappers  and  hunters." 

These  little  people  sleep  on  the  ground  or  on  beds  of 
leaves  spread  out  inside  the  hut.  Some  of  the  huts  have 
two  doors,  one  in  front  and  one  behind,  in  order  that  their 
owners  may  escape  when  attacked. 

Most  of  the  villages  have  pitfalls  and  poisoned  sticks 
about  them  as  a  protection  against  their  enemies.  The 
pygmies  use  poisoned  spears  and  arrows,  and  a  scratch 
from  one  of  these  will  often  cause  death.  They  are 
skillful  bowmen,  shooting  arrows  so  fast  that  the  first  one 


IN  THE   GREAT  AFRICAN   FOREST  — PYGMIES  25 1 

will  often  not  have  fallen  to  the  ground  before  the  third 
has  left  the  bow.  They  are  expert  trappers  and  hunters. 
They  catch  all  kinds  of  birds  and  trap  elephants  in  pits. 
They  shoot  the  eyes  of  the  elephants  with  their  little 
arrows,  blinding  them  ;  and  then  follow  them  until  they 
fall.  They  hunt  birds  for  their  feathers,  and  antelopes 
and  monkeys  for  meat  and  skins. 

The  pygmies  eat  flesh  of  all  sorts  except  that  of  man. 
They  are  fond  of  monkeys,  rats,  birds,  and  reptiles.  They 
eat  snails,  white  ants,  bee  grubs,  and  the  larvae  of  certain 
beetles.  They  roast  their  meat  on  the  coals  and  smoke 
some  of  it  to  preserve  it  for  future  use.  The  women 
usually  do  the  cooking  and  the  men  hunt,  trap,  and  fight. 
The  boys  are  always  practicing  with  bows  and  arrows,  and, 
as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough,  their  fathers  take  them  out 
and  teach  them  to  hunt. 

The  pygmy  tribes  have  no  common  language,  but  they 
usually  talk,  more  or  less  imperfectly,  the  tongues  of  the 
neighboring  tribes.  They  are  droll  little  bodies,  elfish  and^ 
full  of  fun.  They  are  fond  of  singing,  and  have  drums 
made  of  sections  of  a  hollow  tree,  covered  with  skin.  They 
are  intelligent  and  quick  to  learn,  but  timid  and  afraid  of 
all  other  tribes  except  their  own.  They  try  to  return  kind- 
nesses, but  are  spiteful  when  ill-treated,  and  will  wait  a 
long  time  to  revenge  themselves  upon  their  enemies.  They 
remind  us  of  the  gnomes  and  sprites  we  read  about  in 
fairy  stories. 

Pygmies  somewhat  like  these  live  in  southern  Africa 
and  also  near  the  great  lakes  and  in  French  Equatorial 
Africa.  Some  live  in  Madagascar,  where  they  climb  trees 
like  monkeys  and  swing  themselves  from  branch  to  branch. 

CARP.  AFRICA —  1 6 


252 


AFRICA 


They  are  also  found  in  the  Andaman  Islands,  in  the  Bay  of 
Bengal,  and  in  the  Philippines,  where  they  are  known  as 
Negritos,  or  little  negroes. 


Dioic 


38.     THROUGH    GERMAN    EAST  AFRICA   TO 
THE    INDIAN    OCEAN 

WE  have  left  the  Kongo  and  come  across  country  to 
the  western  shore  of  Lake  Tanganyika.  We  have 
crossed  that  lake  to  Ujiji  (00-je'je),  a  great  market  town 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  and  we  shall  now  go  on 
foot  through  German  East  Africa  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 
We  might  take  the  railroad  from  Ujiji  to  Dar  es  Salaam 
on  the  coast.  That  road  was  completed  in  19 14.  But  we 
want  to  study  the  country  and  people,  and  shall  go  in 
the  old-fashioned  African  way  by  caravan  upon  foot. 

German  East  Africa,  where  we  now  are,  is  the  most 
valuable  of  the  German  territories  on  this  continent.  It  is 
about  twice  as  large  as  Germany  in  Europe.  Along  its 
western  border  runs  the  huge  trough  in  which  the  great 
lakes  of  Africa  lie.  At  the  north  is  Victoria,  which  we 
have  already  explored.  On  the  west  is  Lake  Tanganyika, 
the  longest  fresh  water  lake  of  the  world,  and  on  the  south, 
Lake  Nyassa  (ne-as'sa),  almost  as  long. 

Lakes  Nyassa  and  Tanganyika  have  steamers  upon  them. 
They  are  very  deep  and  are  more  like  mighty  rivers  than 
lakes,  being  bounded  by  mountains,  with  steep  shores. 
Tanganyika  was  long  supposed  to  have  no  outlet ;  but  we 
now  know  that  it  flows  at  times  into  the  Kongo  through  a 
gap  in  its  western  wall.     The  waters  of  Nyassa  flow  off  into 


THROUGH  GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA  TO  INDIAN  OCEAN      253 

the  river  Shire,  a  tributary  of  the  Zambezi,  so  that  we 
could  go  southward  to  that  lake  and  thence  by  boat  to  the 
ocean,  through  the  Portuguese  possessions. 

The  greater  part  of  German  East  Africa  is  a  high  and 
comparatively  healthful  plateau.  There  is  a  low  plain  bor- 
dering the  ocean ;  but  back  of  this  the  land  rises,  opening 
out  into  woods  and  almost  sterile  plains  covered  with  grass 
or  bush.  There  are  many  wild  animals  upon  the  plateau, 
including  elephants,  lions,  giraffes,  and  antelopes.  There 
are  also  ostriches,  which  furnish  feathers  for  export. 

German  East  Africa  is  fairly  well  populated.  We  shall 
find  villages  all  along  our  route  from  Ujiji  to  the  coast,  and 
we  learn  that  there  are  many  different  tribes  in  the  several 
parts  of  the  country.  The  people  are  more  intelligent 
than  those  we  met  on  the  Kongo.  In  the  north  they  have 
little  farms  and  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep.  Their  villages 
are  often  surrounded  by  mud  walls  or  stockades  of  posts. 
There  is  sometimes  a  moat  outside  the  walls,  and  commonly 
a  place  in  the  center  where  the  cattle  are  kept  at  night. 

The  huts  are  sometimes  round  and  sometimes  square ; 
but  they  are  all  small  and  made  of  mud  or  wood  thatched 
with  leaves  or  grass.  Many  of  the  people  keep  their  ani- 
mals with  them  in  their  dwellings ;  goats,  sheep,  chickens, 
ducks,  men,  women,  and  children  living  together. 

The  natives  dress  according  to  the  tribes  to  which  they 
belong.  Some  have  clothes  of  skins,  some  wear  aprons 
of  bark,  and  some  have  only  a  fringe  of  grass  about  their 
waists.  All  are  fond  of  jewelry,  and  many  wear  great 
rings  of  copper,  brass,  or  iron  upon  their  necks,  wrists,  or 
legs.  They  have  odd  ways  of  dressing  the 'hair,  and  nearly 
all  wear  a  thick  coat  of  grease  on  their  bodies  and  heads. 


254 


AFRICA 


^ 


Some  of  these  people  raise  maize,  sugar  cane,  tobacco, 
and  manioc.  Nearly  every  village  has  bananas  growing 
about  it,  and  some  have  little  granaries  where  millet,  corn, 
and  other  things  are  put  to  be  kept  from  the  animals. 
Some  of  the  people  have  bees,  and  nearly  every  one 
has  chickens. 

The  natives  are  good  blacksmiths,  smelting  and  hammer- 
ing out  spears,  knives,  bells,  and  rude  axes  and  hoes.    Some 


Dar  es  Salaam. 


of  the  tribes  between  Lake  Tanganyika  and  the  Indian 
Ocean  are  traders.  They  make  a  regular  business  of  carry- 
ing the  native  products  across  the  country  to  exchange 
them  for  European  goods,  which  they  bring  back  to  sell. 
Ujiji,  where  we  now  are,  is  one  of  the  chief  market 
stations.  It  lies  at  the  western  end  of  the  great  trade 
route  which  begins  at  Bagamoyo  (ba-ga-mo'yo),  on  the  sea- 
coast  opposite  Zanzibar,  where  for  many  years  the  ivory  of 
central  Africa  has  been  carried  on  the  heads  of  porters  to 


THROUGH  GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA  TO  INDIAN  OCEAN      255 

be  sold  to  European  traders.  It  is  over  this  trade  route 
that  we  make  our  way  in  a  long,  single  file.  Now  we  stop 
at  a  village,  and  now  camp  out  at  night  in  the  wilds.  We 
visit  Tabora  (ta-bo'ra),  a  native  trading  town  where  many 
roads  cross,  and  stay  awhile  at  Mpapwa  (m'pa'pwa),  another 
thriving  station  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  plateau.  There 
are  German  officers  at  both  places,  and  they  aid  us  on  our 
way  to  the  coast.     Finally  we  reach  Bagamoyo,  where  we 


Government  House. 

find  a  number  of  Europeans,  and  feel  more  at  home  than 
we  have  since  we  left  Boma,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kongo. 

It  is  still  more  homelike  at  Dar  es  Salaam  (dar  es  sa- 
1am'),  situated  a  little  farther  down  the  coast  on  a  beautiful 
bay.  Dar  es  Salaam  is  the  capital  of  German  East  Africa. 
A  few  years  ago,  when  the  Germans  took  possession  of  the 
country,  it  was  but  a  village  of  thatched  huts.  It  is  now  a 
thriving  little  city,  with  public  buildings,  large  warehouses, 
and  scores  of  native  shops  kept  by  turbaned  Arabs  and 
queerly  clad  Hindoos  who  have  come  over  from  Zanzibar. 


256 


AFRICA 


We  stroll  along  the  wide  street  which  borders  the  har- 
bor, watching  the  loading  and  unloading  of  the  great 
ocean  vessels  at  anchor  in  the  bay.  The  steamers  are 
taking  on  ivory,  rubber,  coffee,  and  other  native  products 
for    shipment   to    Europe,   and   discharging  cotton   goods 

from  America,  Germany, 
and  England,  to  be  sent 
by  railroad  and  caravan 
to  the  interior. 

As  we  watch,  another 
steamer  comes  in  from 
the  south ;  and  we  notice 
that  Dar  es  Salaam  al- 
ready has  considerable 
trade.  Its  harbor  is 
excellent,  railroads  are 
building  to  the  interior, 
and  the  Germans  are  do- 
ing all  they  can  to  make 
it  an  important  port. 

Later,  we  stroll  about 
visiting      the      quarters 
where  the  natives  live. 
The  men  have  strips  of 
"Some  wear  long  shirts  ..."  cotton  about  their  waists 

which  fall  to  their  knees.  Some  wear  long  shirts  and 
others  have  gowns  and  turbans  or  caps.  The  women  are 
dressed  in  bright-colored  cottons ;  but  they  are  all  bare- 
headed, barearmed,  and  barefooted. 

We  next  go  out  to  see  the  experimental  farms  and 
cotton  plantations  which  the  Germans  have  estabUshed  in 


THROUGH  GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA  TO  INDIAN  OCEAN 


57 


the  country  near  by.  Returning,  we  call  upon  the  governor 
at  his  residence,  situated  in  a  beautiful  garden  filled  with 
tropical  plants  and  trees.  From  him  and  his  officials  we 
learn  much  about  the  parts  of  the  country  we  have  not 


"The  women  are  dressed  in  bright-colored  cottons;  .      ." 

been  able  to  visit.  They  tell  us  that  they  are  rapidly 
exploring  their  territory,  that  schools  are  being  estab- 
lished in  many  parts  of  the  country,  that  telegraph  lines 
have  been  constructed  to  Lake  Tanganyika  and  Lake  Vic- 
toria, and  that  railroads  Hke  that  from  here  to  Lake 
Tanganyika,  will  sometime  be  built  all  over  the  country. 
They  show  us  where  a  road  will  soon  be  constructed  from 
Tabora  to  Lake  Victoria,  and  describe  the  northern  part 
of  the  colony  through  which  a  railroad  now  goes  from 
Tanga  (tang'a)  on  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  latter  road  is  not 
far  from  Mount  Kilimanjaro  ;  and  we  wonder  whether  this, 
the  greatest  mountain  of  Africa,  may  not,  like  the  Alps, 
sometime  be  accessible  by  railroad.    A  German  explorer  has 


258 


AFRICA 


already  ascended  it  and  has  given  the  world  an  account  of 
its  wonders. 

Kilimanjaro  lies  on  the  northern  border  of  German  East 
Africa,  halfway  between  Lake  Victoria  and  the  Indian, 
Ocean.  It  is  only  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Equator,  but 
its  top  is  so  high  that  it  is  always  covered  with  snow.  The 
natives  who  Hve  in  the  tropical  lowlands,  where  snow  never 


Kilimanjaro. 

falls,  can  not  understand  what  the  white  peak  means.  It 
is  said  that  they  suppose  that  the  mountain  is  capped  with 
molten  silver,  and  that  if  they  could  climb  to  the  top  they 
might  bring  back  a  store  of  that  precious  metal. 

Kilimanjaro  is  one  of  the  highest  of  the  world's  mighty 
mountains.  It  ends  in  two  peaks,  one  of  which  is  almost 
four  miles  aboyejhe^ level  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  two 
peaks  as  viewed  from  a  distance  look  like  a  saddle,  the 
taller  one,  known  as   Kibo  (ke'bo),  rising  far  above  the 


THROUGH  GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA  TO  INDIAN  OCEAN      259 

Other.  Each  peak  is  a  great  crater,  Kibo  being  six  hun- 
dred feet  deep  and  more  than  a  mile  in  circumference.  _;; 
The  soil  about  these  craters  is  composed  of  lava  and 
rock,  and  farther  down  the  mountain  the  lava  can  be  plainly 
seen.  The  lower  slopes  are  covered  with  a  rich  vegeta- 
tion.    The  trees  at  the  bottom  are  bound  together  with 


"...  huts  which  look  Uke  haystacks." 

vines,  forming  a  jungle  in  which  are  many  orchids  and 
other  air  plants.  Higher  up,  the  forests  are  more  open; 
there  are  groves  and  grasslands.  Higher  still,  the  vegeta- 
tion grows  scantier  and  scantier,  until  at  last  there  is  noth- 
ing but  lava  and  snow. 

The  country  about  Kilimanjaro  is  well  populated.  The 
natives  are  dark  brown  in  color.  They  belong  to  the 
Bantu  races,  being  divided  up  into  many  tribes,  each  hav- 
ing its  own  chief  or  sultan.     They  are  more  civilized  than 


26o  AFRICA 

the  natives  we  meet  on  the  Kongo.  In  some  tribes  the 
older  people  wear  clothes,  dressing  in  white  cottons  and 
gay  colored  caHcoes.  They  are  fond  of  jewelry,  and  the 
women  wear  heavy  necklaces  and  anklets  of  copper  or 
iron  wire.  The  babies  go  naked,  and  little  boys  have  sel- 
dom more  than  an  apron.  These  people  cultivate  the  soil, 
having  patches  of  grain  surrounded  by  hedges.  Some  of 
their  farms  are  irrigated  from  the  streams  which  flow  down 
the  mountain. 

The  villages  are  composed  of  huts  which  look  Hke  hay- 
stacks. Each  house  has  its  own  little  2:ranarv  outside  it, 
and  nearly  every  family  owns  a  patch  of  bananas. 


39.     ZANZIBAR 


THE  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  (zan-zi-bar')  once  controlled  all 
the  territory  now  belonging  to  German  East  Africa. 
He  lived  on  the  island  of  Zanzibar,  which  lies  about  twenty- 
five  miles  off  the  coast,  opposite  Bagamoyo,  and  from 
there,  in  a  rude  way,  through  their  chiefs,  governed  the 
tribes  of  the  mainland.  The  Sultan  had  close  relations 
with  Great  Britain,  and  it  may  be  that  the  British  thought 
that  these  territories  would  some  day  belong  to  them. 
In  1885,  however,  several  Germans,  disguised  as  me- 
chanics, made  their  way  through  the  country  and  called 
upon  the  various  chiefs.  They  made  treaties  with  them, 
on  the  behalf  of  Germany,  to  come  under  its  protection  ; 
and  in  time  the  Germans  forced  the  Sultan  to  give  up  this 
territory  to  them.  Zanzibar  Island  itself  still  belongs  to 
the  Sultan,  but  it  is  under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain. 


ZANZIBAR 


tr^^i 


The  Sultan  is  an  Arab.  He  is  the  descendant  of 
chiefs  who  sailed  from  Arabia,  centuries  ago,  and  con- 
quered a  great  part  of  eastern  Africa.  They  once  controlled 
all  the  coast  lands  from  Cape  Guardafui  to  Mozambique 
(mo-z^m-bek'),  and  their  power  was  felt  as  far  inland  as 
Lake  Tanganyika.  They  established  their  capital  on  the 
island  of  Zanzibar,  and  carried  on  an  extensive  trade  in 


Ivory  from  East  Africa. 

slaves  and  ivory,  which  were  brought  across  the  country  in 
caravans  to  Bagamoyo  and  thence  by  boat  to  Zanzibar,  to 
be  shipped  to  Europe  and  Asia.  The  slaves  carried  the 
ivory  on  their  heads  to  the  seacoast,  and  at  Zanzibar  both 
slaves  and  ivory  were  sold. 

At  the  same  time  goods  of  many  kinds  were  shipped  to 
Zanzibar,  to  be  taken  over  to  the  mainland  for  trade  with 
the  natives.  People  from  India,  Arabia,  and  Europe  settled 
here  to  engage  in  business,  and  therefrom  grew  up  this 


262 


AFRICA 


city  which  is  now  the  largest  along  the  eastern  coast  of 
Africa.  It  contains  Hindoo  traders,  Mohammedan  Arabs, 
and  many  thousands  of  blacks  who  have  come  from  the 
mainland  of  Africa  to  work  and  trade. 

We  visit  Zanzibar  from  Dar  es  Salaam,  before  begin- 
ning our  exploration  of  the  lands  farther  south.  A  great 
German  steamship  on  its  way  north  carries  us  from  one 
port  to  the  other.  We  can  see  Zanzibar  long  before  we 
get  to  it.  It  is  a  low  coral  island,  covered  with  green. 
Along  the  shores  are  cocoanut  and  mango  trees,  with 
the  towers  and  minarets  of  mosques  rising  above  them 
and  with  wooded  hills  in  the  rear.     Nearer  still,  facing  the 

harbor,  are  the  great 
white  buildings  of 
the  city,  and  also  the 
palace  of  the  Sultan, 
an  immense  struc- 
ture,  with  verandas  to 
each  of  its  three  sto. 
ries  and  with  many 
windows  reaching  to 
the  floor. 

We  land  and  make 
our     way     on     foot 
through    the   streets. 
^°°^^^  ^''^'  They  are  too  narrow 

for  carriages  or  horses.  Some  are  not  more  than  four  feet 
wide,  and  we  are  often  crowded  to  the  walls  by  porters 
carrying  great  loads  on  their  backs  or  heads.  The  streets 
are  crooked  and  we  wind  our  way,  passing  through  the 
strangest  crowds  we  have  yet  seen.     There  are  dark-faced 


ZANZIBAR 


263 


men  in  long  gowns  wearing  turbans,  Parsee  merchants 
from  India,  with  their  coats  buttoned  up  to  their  necks 
and  hats  like  inverted  coal  scuttles  ;  there  are  black  coojie 
girls  with  gold  buttons  in  their  noses,  and  Hindoo  girls 
loaded  with  jewelry.     There  are  many  half-naked  natives 


'A 

\m 

^^^w^'^"'  '*  iSP^^H^H^H' 

^mippi^pii^ 

— n,^ 

"...  over  roads  lined  with  cocoanut  palms." 

from  the  mainland,  doing  all  sorts  of  work,  and  the  black 
soldiers  of  the  Sultan  in  uniform.  We  also  meet  English- 
men and  Germans,  Frenchmen  and  Italians,  and  now  and 
then  an  American. 

Later  on,  we  go  to  the  mosques  to  watch  the  Moham- 
medans at  their  prayers  and  then  visit  the  Hindoo 
temples  and  the  English  churches.  On  Wednesday 
afternoon  we  hear  the  Sultan's  band  play,  and,  accom- 
panied by  the  American  Consul,  are  received  by  his 
Majesty  and  taken  over  his  palaces. 

During  our  stay  we  take  horses,  and  ride  out  through 
the  island  over  roads  lined  with  cocoanut  palms.    Zanzibar 


264  AFRICA 

is  not  large,  but  it  is  so  fertile  that  it  looks  like  a  garden. 
It  produces  tropical  fruits,  cocoanuts  in  large  quantities, 
and  it  has  so  many  clove  trees  that  it  may  be  called 
the  most  s^icy  of  all  the  world's  islands.  It  is  estimated 
that  four  fifths  of  all  the  cloves  used  are  grown  in 
Zanzibar,  such  exports  sometimes  amounting  to  ten  mil- 
lion pounds  in  one  year. 

Clove  trees  are  set  out  in  orchards  and  cultivated. 
They  grow  to  be  thirty  or  forty  feet  high,  and  begin 
to  bear  blossoms  at  about  six  years.  The  blossoms,  which 
are  bright  red  in  color,  form  the  cloves  of  commerce. 
They  are  picked  when  full  blown,  and  are  cured  by 
smoke  from  slow  wood  fires.  While  smoking,  they  turn 
to  the  color  of  the  cloves  of  our  grocery  stores.  After 
drying,  they  are  packed  up  ready  for  shipment  abroad. 
We  see  bags  of  cloves  on  the  Zanzibar  wharves,  and  are 
told  that  they  are  destined  for  the  United  States.  Perhaps 
we,  ourselves,  may  eat  some  of  them  in  our  pickles  next 
year.  ^ 

40.     WITH    THE   PORTUGUESE    IN    AFRICA 

IT  is  on  a  German  steamer  that  we  travel  southward 
from  Zanzibar  to  visit  the  Portuguese  possessions 
along  the  eastern  coast.  They  begin  at  Cape  Delgado 
(del  ga'do)  and  extend  beyond  Delagoa  (del-a-go'a)  Bay, 
a  distance  of  about  fourteen  hundred  miles.  The  great 
Zambezi  River  cuts  them  almost  in  half,  and  the  Limpopo 
(lTm-p5'po),  or  Crocodile  River,  flows  through  them  not  far 
from  their  southern  boundary.  The  country  consists 
chiefly  of   the   low   coastal    plain    and   the   delta   of    the 


WITH   THE   PORTUGUESE   IN   AFRICA  265 

Zambezi.       It  is  about  eight  times  as  large  as  Kentucky, 
but  is  wild  and  uiihealthful  and  comparatively  unexplored. 

In  addition  to  this  territory  the  Portuguese  own  the 
Cape  Verde  Islands  and  a  small  possession  on  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea.  They  have  also  the  province  of  Angola 
(an-go'la),  which  lies  just  south  of  the  Kongo,  runs  for 
one  thousand  miles  along  the  western  coast,  and  is  ten 
times  as  large  as  the  State  of  New  York.  Angola  is 
somewhat  like  the  Belgian  Kongo  in  character;  but  the 
land  is  unhealthful  and  of  but  little  value  in  comparison  ^ 
with  some  of  the  African  possessions  of  the  British  and 
the  French, 

One  would  think  that  the  best  of  Africa  ought  to  be- 
long to  the  Portuguese;  for  it  was  largely  due Jto  their 
explorations  that  it  first  became  known  to  civilized  man. 
Until  about  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America  the 
only  parts  of  Africa  visited  by  Europeans  were  those 
along  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It  is  true  that  the  Greek 
writer  Herodotus  had  published  a  story  of  a  Phoenician 
ship  which  had  sailed  about  Africa,  but  this  was  con- 
sidered a  fiction  and  no  one  really  knew  that  Africa  was 
a  great  continent,  or  that  India  could  be  reached  by  going 
around  it. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  the 
products  of  India  and  other  parts  of  Asia  were  greatly 
desired  by  the  Europeans.  They  were  in  such  demand 
that  they  were  brought  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea  by  caravan,  and  sent  thence  by  boat  to  the 
European  ports.  Such  transportation  was  costly,  and  it 
was  thought  that  a  cheaper  way  might  be  had  by  a  sea 
passage.     Columbus  tried  to  find  a  new  route  by  sailing 


266  •  AFRICA 

westward,  and  he  started  in  that  direction  and  discovered 
our  continent.  At  about  the  same  time  the  Portuguese 
sailed  southward  to  find  a  way  to  India  about  Africa. 
One  of  their  sea  captains  had  journeyed  along  the  east 
coast  to  Sofala  (so-fa'la),  not  far  from  where  we  now 
are;  and  he  had  probably  brought  back  the  story  that 
the  land  ended  some  distance  farther  south.  The  Portu- 
guese did  not  know  how  far  south  the  continent  went, 
and  were  not  sure  that  there  was  a  passage  about  it, 
but  they  concluded  to  find  out.  One  man  who  was  much 
interested  in  the  work  was  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal, 
who  equipped  so  many  expeditions  that  he  became  known 
as  *'  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator."  He  explored  the 
northwestern  coast  of  Africa,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1460  had  sent  ships  as  far  south  as  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea.  A  few  years  later  Cam  (kaN),  a  Portuguese, 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Kongo,  and  in  1487  another 
Portuguese,  Bartholomew  Dias  (de'as),  went  to  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  continent  and  named  it  the  "  Cape  of 
Storms,"  which  was  afterward  changed  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 

The  next  great  voyage  was  made  by  the  Portuguese, 
Vasco  da  Gama  (vas'ko  da  ga'ma),  in  1497,  or  just  five 
years  after  Columbus  started  out  to  discover  America. 
Da  Gama  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  sailed 
on  to  India.  His  trip  created  great  excitement  among 
navigators  all  over  the  civiUzed  world,  and  his  route 
became  the  chief  ocean  highway  to  Asia. 

The  Portuguese  made  many  voyages  and  built  up  a  great 
trade  with  India.  They  estabHshed  colonies  at  the  Cape, 
at  Sofala,  a  port  on  the  Indian  Ocean  then  noted  for  its 


WITH   THE   PORTUGUESE   IN  AFRICA  26/ 

ivory  and  gold  exports,  at  Mozambique,  and  at  other  places 
on  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  the  continent.  Indeed,  for 
a  long  time  they  claimed  that  the  most  of  Africa  belonged 
to  them.  They  warred  with  the  Arabs,  who  were  doing 
business  along  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  extended  their  con- 
quests to  Zanzibar,  Mombasa,  and  almost  to  the  Gulf  of 
Suez  so  that  the  Indian  Ocean  was  sometimes  spoken 
of  as  the  great  Portuguese  lake. 

Later  on  the  Dutch  and  English  built  up  their  trade 
with  India  and  Asia.  The  Dutch  drove  the  Portuguese 
away  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  and  they  in  turn  were 
conquered  by  the  English,  so  that  that  country,  and  the 
east  coast  almost  as  far  north  as  Delagoa  Bay,  now  belongs 
to  Great  Britain. 

Steaming  out  of  Zanzibar  harbor,  we  are  soon  again  in 
sight  of  the  low,  densely  wooded  shores  of  Africa.  We  pass 
Cape  Delgado,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rovuma  (r5-voo'-ma) 
River,  and  a  little  later  are  plowing  along  through  the 
Mozambique  Channel,  which  separates  the  continent  from 
the  great  island  of  Madagascar.  The  channel  is  more 
than  two  hundred  miles  wide,  and  we  hence  have  no  view 
of  the  Madagascar  coast. 
V  \/  Our  first  stop  is  at  Mozambique,  the  old  capital  of  Por- 
^  tuguese  East  Africa.  It  is  a  little  island  covered  with 
houses,  so  close  to  the  continent  that  canoes  by  scores  are 
always  plying  back  and  forth  carrying  food  and  other 
supplies.  We  land  and  take  a  walk  through  the  town. 
How  delightful  it  is  after  the  poor  villages  of  the  interior! 
The  streets  are  narrow,  but  they  are  macadamized,  and 
have  clean  sidewalks  paved  with  cement.  The  houses  are 
made  of  stone  covered  with  plaster  and  are  painted  red, 

CARP.  AFRICA —  1 7 


268 


AFRICA 


pink,  blue,  yellow,  or  lavender.  Many  of  the  buildings 
have  street  lamps  bracketed  to  them.  There  are  little 
parks  here  and  there,  and  outside  the  town  is  an  old 
fortress  reached  by  a  long  avenue  of  wild  fig  trees. 

We  call  upon  the  governor,  spend  a  little  time  shopping 
with  the  natives  in  the  markets,  and  then  take  a  ride  in  a 
machilla  over  the  island.  The  machilla  is  a  reclining  chair 
with  a  canvas  top.  It  is  slung  to  a  pole  and  borne  by  two 
natives,  one  of  whom  trots  in  front  and  the  other  behind, 
carrying  the  ends  of  the  pole  on  their  shoulders.  Our  trip 
is  a  short  one.  Mozambique  Island  is  only  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide  and  not  more  than  a  mile  long,  so  that  it  takes 
but  little  time  to  explore  it. 

Now  we  are  again  on  the  steamer  and  have  sailed  almost 
six  hundred  miles  southward  along  the  African  coast.  We 
have  come  from  Mozambique  to  Chinde,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Zambezi,  and  are  about  to  land  at  Beira  (ba'e-ra), 
where  there  is  a  railroad  extending  far  into  the  interior. 


We  .  .  .  take  a  ride  in  a  machilla  ... 


WITH   THE   PORTUGUESE   IN   AFRICA 


269 


What  is  that  great  basket 


How  rough  the  sea  is !  We  had  a  storm  last  night,  and 
the  ship  is  still  rolling.  We  have  come  to  anchor  outside 
the  port,  but  the  waves  are  high,  and  we  look  in  despair 
at  the  boats  which  are  rising  and  falling  on  the  waters 
beneath.  We  do  not  see  how  we  shall  ever  be  able  to  get 
down  to  them  to  be  taken  ashore. 

What  is  that  great  basket  which  the  sailors  have  placed 
on  the  deck }  They  have  fastened  it  to  a  derrick  so  that 
it  can  be  raised  and  lowered  to  the  boats.  The  basket  is 
taller  than  we  are.  It  has  a  door  in  the  side  through 
which  we  step  in.  It  will  carry  "three  boys  at  one  time 
if  we  stand  close  together.  Now  the  door  is  closed  ;  and  a 
moment  later  we  feel  ourselves  rising  and  then  falling,  and 
almost  before  we  know  it  we  are  able  to  step  out  into  the 
boat  far  below. 


270  AFRICA 

We  land  and  ride  through  the  little  town  on  a  street-car 
cab,  pushed  from  behind  by  half-naked  blacks  on  the  trot. 
We  visit  the  railroad  station,  shop  at  the  stores  and  in  the 
market,  and  then  have  dinner  at  the  hotel.  We  are  told 
that  the  country  back  from  the  coast  has  excellent  hunt- 
ing. Buffaloes,  wildebeest,  hartebeest,  and  quagga  roam 
over  the  land  in  vast  herds,  and  elephants  and  lions  are 
occasionally  found.  The  country  is  unhealthful  for  Euro- 
peans, and  we  do  not  make  a  long  stay. 

Our  next  port  is  Lourengo  Marquez  (lo-ren'so  mar'kes), 
the  most  important  of  the  Portuguese  towns,  situated  on 
Delagoa  Bay,  almost  five  hundred  miles  south.  It  has 
one  of  the  best  harbors  of  the  southern  hemisphere.  Del- 
agoa Bay  is  seventy-eight  miles  long  and  twenty  miles 
wide,  and  there  is  an  inner  harbor  which  is  seven  miles 
long  and  one  mile  wide  with  depth  enough  for  large 
steamers.  This  harbor  is  especially  important,  as  it  is  one 
of  the  chief  ports  for  the  gold  fields  and  farm  lands  of  the 
Transvaal  (trans- val')  and  other  states  of  British  South 
Africa.  Lourengo  Marquez  is  also  the  seat  of  government 
of  the  Portuguese  possessions. 

We  are  several  hours  steaming  through  the  bay  before 
we  pass  Reuben  Point  into  the  inner  harbor  and  anchor 
close  to  the  shore.  Our  baggage  is  taken  to  the  custom- 
house pier,  which  has  great  cranes  for  loading  and  unload- 
ing cargo.  It  is  quickly  examined,  and  a  few  moments 
later  we  are  strolling  through  the  chief  business  part  of 
the  city. 

The  town  seems  more  thrifty  than  any  we  have  seen 
since  we  left  Egypt.  On  the  streets  are  many  Europeans 
dressed  in  white  clothes  and  straw  hats.     There  are  dark- 


WITH  THE  PORTUGUESE   IN  AFRICA  2/1 

faced  Portuguese,  and  English,  French,  Germans,  and 
Americans  who  have  landed  here  on  their  way  to  and  from 
the  interior  of  South  Africa,  and  there  are  also  East 
Indians,  who  to  a  large  extent  do  the  retail  business  of  the 
place.  There  are  also  natives  in  every  state  of  dress  and 
undress. 

Lourengo  Marquez  has  clean  streets,  lined  with  neat, 
bright-colored  houses.  We  pass  red,  blue,  yellow,  and 
pink  buildings  in  the  same  block,  and  spend  some  time  in 
the  park  surrounded  by  houses  of  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow.  We  visit  the  Botanical  Garden,  take  a  drive  to 
Reuben  Point,  and  in  the  pubHc  buildings  have  a  chat 
with  the  Governor  General  about  the  country  and  its 
people. 

He  tells  us  that  Portuguese  East  Africa  has  about  three 
hundred  thousand  square  miles  and  a  population  of  more 
than  three  millions.  The  country  is  divided  into  districts, 
beginning  at  the  north;  namely,  Mozambique,  Zambezi,  and 
Louren^o  Marquez.  It  is  largely  governed  by  companies 
which  have  charters  from  the  king  of  Portugal  to  develop 
it.  Almost  the  whole  of  it  is  unhealthful,  and  it  has  but 
few  Europeans. 

The  natives  are  chiefly  of  the  Bantu  race.  They  are  of 
many  tribes,  mostly  barbarous.  In  some  places  slavery 
still  exists,  and  cannibalism  is  practiced.  Each  tribe  has 
its  peculiar  dress,  although  all  go  more  or  less  naked. 
Along  the  Shire  (she'ra)  River  the  women  make  great 
holes  in  their  lower  Hps  in  which  they  wear  ornaments  of 
various  kinds.  Sometimes  they  have  long  nails  of  brass 
or  ivory  thrust  through  these  holes,  and  sometimes  they 
stretch  the  holes  so  that  a  ring  as  big  as  a  napkin  ring 


2/2 


AFRICA 


will  fit  into  it.  These  people  live  in  villages ;  they  are  not 
unlike  the  tribes  we  saw  on  the  Kongo. 

We  find  natives  in  Louren90  Marquez  and  see  many 
during  our  trips  through  the  country  near  by.     The  men 

often  have  little 
more  than  strings 
around  their  waists, 
to  which  are  tied 
bunches  of  tails  or 
skins  in  front  and 
behind.  The  women 
wear  a  cloth  about 
the  body  from  the 
waist  to  the  knees, 
and  some  have  a 
second  cloth  over 
their  shoulders. 
They  have  neck- 
laces of  beads,  and 
bracelets  and  an- 
^^"^"  ^°y^-  klets     of     twisted 

iron  wire.  Such  wire  often  covers  the  arm  from  the  wrist 
to  the  elbow,  and  the  leg  from  the  ankle  to  the  knee. 
They  wear  bead  necklaces,  and  sometimes  bead  work  on 
ribbons  about  their  heads.  They  carry  their  babies  tied  to 
their  backs,  the  little  ones  bobbing  up  and  down  as  they 
move  along  the  road  or  dig  in  the  fields. 

Here  as  in  other  wild  parts  of  Africa  the  women  do  the 
hard  work.  The  men  are  loafers  and  buy  their  wives ; 
the  man  who  has  several  wives  expects  to  live  on  their 
earnings.     His  only  duty  is  to  furnish  his  wives'  clothing. 


BRITISH    SOUTH   AFRICA  2/3 


41.     BRITISH    SOUTH    AFRICA 

WE  are  now  to  enter  a  new  world  —  the  English  world 
of  South  Africa.  So  far  we  have  been  traveling 
among  black  or  brown  people  more  or  less  barbarous,  and 
much  of  the  time  in  countries  so  hot  or  unhealthful  that 
white  men  can  not  live  in  them.  This  new  world  has  a 
civilization  much  like  our  own,  and  as  its  climate  is  tem- 
perate our  race  thrives  here  almost  as  well  as  at  home. 

We  can  see  why  this  is  when  we  consider  where  this 
part  of  the  African  continent  lies  upon  the  globe  and  its 
elevation  above  the  sea.  The  mouth  of  the  Zambezi  is  as 
far  from  the  equator  as  Porto  Rico ;  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  at  the  extreme  southern  end,  has  about,  the  same 
latitude  as  Chattanooga  or  Los  Angeles,  so  that  the  lands 
between  these  points  on  the  two  continents,  if  they  had 
the  same  height  above  the  sea,  the  same  winds,  and  the 
same  general  nature,  should  have  about  the  same  climate. 
There  is  one  difference  :  South  Africa,  because  it  lies  south 
of  the  equator,  has  its  summer  when  we  have  our  winter, 
and  its  winter  when  we  have  our  summer. 

There  are  other  differences  just  as  there  are  differences 
between  the  lands  of  the  same  latitude  in  the  eastern  and 
western  parts  of  the  United  States ;  for  the  winds,  moun- 
tains, and  all  the  surroundings  of  a  region  regulate  its 
climatic  conditions.  South  Africa  is  made  up  of  moun- 
tains and  high  plains.  With  the  exception  of  a  narrow 
strip  along  the  coast  the  whole  country  is  from  a  half  mile 
to  a  mile  above  the  sea.  Therefore  it  is  much  cooler  than 
if  it  were  low. 


2/4  AFRICA 

A  large  part  of  it  is  desert  because  the  water-laden 
winds,  which  blow  mostly  from  the  Indian  Ocean,  first 
strike  the  cold  air  of  the  Drakensburg  (dra'krnz-berg) 
Mountains,  which  run  along  the  east  coast.  This  con- 
denses their  moisture  and  gives  copious  rains  to  the  eastern 
slope  and  the  plain  at  its  feet,  making  it  the  garden  spot  of 
South  Africa.  When  the  winds  blow  on  toward  the  west- 
ward, they  are  comparatively  dry,  and  for  this  reason  the 
most  of  the  highlands  are  almost  rainless,  having  great 
deserts  such  as  the  Karroo  (kar-roo')  plateau  of  Cape 
Colony  and  the  Kalahari  (ka-la-ha'rl)  Desert  farther  north. 

The  whole  central  and  western  part  of  South  Africa,  in- 
cluding German  Southwest  Africa,  has  only  a  scanty  rain- 
fall ;  and  although  it  is  healthful,  the  land  is  dry,  bleak,  and 
bare.  The  rivers,  with  the  exception  of  the  Orange  and 
Limpopo,  are  short  and  dry  a  part  of  the  year.  Even  the 
Orange  and  Limpopo  are  almost  dry  in  some  seasons ; 
and  they  have  so  many  rocks,  rapids,  and  waterfalls  that 
they  are  of  no  value  to  commerce.  The  result  is  that  all 
transport  has  to  be  by  rail  or  in  wagons  drawn  by  long 
teams  of  oxen  and  mules. 

As  the  hills  are  steep  and  the  plateau  comparatively 
difficult  of  access,  it  was  for  a  long  time  unexplored  and 
undeveloped.  The  settlements  began  at  Cape  Town  and 
along  the  southeastern  coast;  there  the  Portuguese 
and  Dutch  first  came,  and  after  them  the  EngHsh.  The 
English  and  Dutch  gradually  pushed  their  way  northward. 
They  found  much  of  the  land  good  for  sheep  and  cattle, 
and  in  other  places  they  raised  fruit,  wheat,  tobacco,  and 
grain. 

Then  diamonds  were  discovered  near  the  Orange  River, 


BRITISH    SOUTH   AFRICA  2/5 

and  people  came  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  search  for 
them.  The  rich  gold  fields,  which  were  found  still  farther 
north  in  the  Transvaal,  brought  more  people.  The  country 
proved  healthful,  and  many  farmers  cam.e  in.  Railroads 
were  built,  cities  and  towns  grew  up  here  and  there,  until 
we  now  have,  in  this  part  of  Africa,  a  civilized  land  which 
has  thousands  of  miles  of  railroads,  telegraphs  almost 
everywhere,  schools  and  newspapers,  rich  farms  and  fine 
houses,  and  nearly  everything  else  which  we  consider 
necessary  to  civilization. 

The  English  have  pushed  steadily  northward,  conquer- 
ing the  native  tribes  and  bringing  them  under  subjection. 
They  have  also  taken  over  the  government  of  several  rich 
States  which  were  settled  by  the  Boers,  descendants  of 
immigrants  who  came  from  Holland  ;  and  they  now  own 
all  the  country  south  of  the  Belgian  Kongo  between  An- 
gola and  Portuguese  East  Africa  and  German  Southwest 
Africa  and  the  Indian  Ocean.  This  vast  territory  extends 
from  the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Tanganyika  on  the 
north  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

This  land  is  divided  up  into  great  states  or  colo- 
nies. All  are  improving,  and  railroads  are  rapidly  build- 
ing to  the  northward  with  branches  out  to  the  ports 
on  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  railroad  system  has  already 
crossed  the  Zam^zi  River,  and  it  will  go  on  past  the  great 
lakes  and  through  Uganda  until  it  connects  with  the  rail- 
roads of  the  Egyptian  Sudan.  Then  we  shall  have  a  trunk 
line  of  road  from  one  end  of  Africa  to  the  other,  and 
shall  be  able  to  travel  on  comfortable  cars  from  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  This  colossal 
undertaking  is  known  as  the  Cape  to  Cairo  Railroad. 


2/6 


AFRICA 


When  the  Europeans  first  came  to  South  Africa  they 
found  three  races  of  natives.  Two  were  small,  weak,  and 
of  a  low  grade  of  civilization  ;  the  other  was  strong  and 
warlike,  with  kraals  or  villages  of  huts  shaped  like  bee- 
hives, and  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep.  The  two  weak  races 
are  known  as  Bushmen  and  Hottentots  ;  the  strong  one 
as  the  Kaffir  race. 

The  Kaffirs  are  very  numerous  in  many  parts  of  South 
Africa.     They  are  Bantus,  somewhat  like  the  best  of  the 


Kaffir  village. 

natives  of  the  Kongo  valley.  They  have  brown  skins, 
thick  lips,  and  woolly  hair.  They  are  of  many  tribes,  such 
as  the  Zulus,  the  Matabeles  (mat-a-be'les),  and  others 
which  we  may  meet  in  our  travels.  Most  of  the  tribes  are 
thriving,  notwithstanding  the  settlement  of  the  country 
by  the  whites.  Some  Kaffirs  have  lands  of  their  own 
with  farms  and  grazing  territories  ;  others  work  in  the 
mines,  in  the  cities,  and  on  the  farms. 

The  two  weak  races  might  be  ranked  with  the  dwarfs  of 
Africa.       The    Bushmen    are    somewhat    similar    to    the 


BRITISH    SOUTH    AFRICA 


277 


P)' 


pfmies  we  saw  in  the  o^reat  Kon^o  forest     Their  hei2:ht 


is  rarely  more  than  four  feet,  and  their  yellow  faces  have 
features  somewhat  Hke  the  Chinese.  Their  language  is  a 
mixture  of  clicks  and  grunts,  being  often  compared  to  the 
clucking  of  a  turkey.  They  live  in  low  huts  made  of 
reeds,  in  caves,  or  in  holes  in  the  rocks.  They  rely  for 
food  upon  roots  and  wild  fruits,  and  upon  what  they  can 


Kaffirs. 

Steal  or  kill.  They  are  fond  of  caterpillars,  locusts,  and 
grasshoppers,  and  eat  even  ants  and  spiders.  The  Bush- 
men live  chiefly  in  the  Kalahari  Desert  and  in  the  western 
parts  of  South  Africa. 

The  Hottentots  are  only  a  little  larger  than  the  Bush- 
men ;  and  they  have  the  same  yellowish  skins,  high  cheek- 
bones, slant  eyes,  and  flat  noses.  Their  coarse  hair  is 
grown  in  patches  over  the  head.     They  are  a  little  more 


2/8 


AFRICA 


intelligent  than  the 
Bushmen,  and  in 
times  past  they  had 
vast  herds  of  cattle 
and  fat-tailed  sheep. 
They  then  lived  in 
tents  or  huts  made  of 
branches  of  trees 
covered  with  mats, 
dressing  in  sheep- 
skins and  smearing 
their  bodies  with 
grease.  To-day  they 
are  largely  servants 
and  farm  laborers ; 
and  are  said  to  be 
^^^^-  about  the  laziest  peo- 

ple under  the  sun.     They  are  noted  for  their  immorality 
and  drunkenness,  and  are  fast  dying  out. 


3^«4C 


42.    RHODESIA  — THE   ZAMBEZI— THE 
NIAGARA   OF   AFRICA 


WE  have  returned  to  Beira  by  sea  and  taken  the  rail- 
road through  Portuguese  East  Africa  to  Salisbury, 
the  capital  of  the  great  province  of  Rhodesia.  We  are 
now  in  what  might  be  called  the  frontier  of  British  South 
Africa.  The  settlements  by  the  whites  began  at  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  and  they  have  been  steadily  pushed  to- 
ward  the   north.      Salisbury  is   more  than   four  hundred 


RHODESIA  — THE   NIAGARA   OF   AFRICA  2/9 

miles  farther  north  of  Cape  Town  than  Dukith  is  north  of 
New  Orleans,  and  Rhodesia  extends  still  many  hundred 
miles  northward.  It  reaches  the  Belgian  Kongo  and  Ger- 
man East  Africa,  bordering  on  the  southern  shores  of 
Lake  Tanganyika,  and  lying  on  both  sides  of  the  wide 
Zambezi  River. 

Rhodesia  is  about  one  fourth   as   large  as  the  United 
States    proper ;  and    a   great   part  of   it,   being   high  and 


"Huge  wagons,  loaded  with  grain,  ..." 

healthful,  will  support  a  vast  white  population.  We  see 
the  homes  of  English  settlers  with  sh,eep  and  cattle  about 
them  shortly  after  we  enter  the  province.  Huge  wagons, 
loaded  with  grain,  hauled  by  long  teams  of  oxen,  stand 
about  the  stations,  and  villages  and  towns  are  rapidly 
growing  up  along  the  line  of  the  railroad. 

Salisbury  is  a  thriving  little  city  with  fine  public  build- 
ings, good  stores,  and  comfortable  homes.  It  has  churches, 
libraries,  and  schools.     It  has  cricket  clubs  and   football 


28o  AFRICA 

grounds,  and  we  notice  that  the  children  enjoy  themselves 
quite  as  much  as  at  home.  We  go  about  at  night  under 
electric  lights,  and  ride  from  one  place  to  another  on  street 
cars. 

It  is  more  lively  still  in  Bulawayo  (boo-la-wa'yo),  several 
hundred  miles  farther  on,  where  we  stay  a  few  days  before 
going  northward  to  see  the  falls  of  the  Zambezi  River. 
The  Zambezi  is  one  of  the  largest  rivers  of  Africa,  being 
surpassed  only  by  the  Kongo,  the  Nile,  and  the  Niger.  It 
rises  in  the  western  highlands  and  flows  eastward  across 
the  continent,  emptying  through  a  wide  delta  into  the 
Indian  Ocean.  The  lower  part  of  the  river  and  the  Shire, 
its  chief  tributary,  are  navigable  throughout  their  lower 
courses  for  small  steamers,  while,  farther  up  the  Zambezi, 
are  long  stretches  of  wide  and  deep  water  ways.  In  many 
places,  however,  the  river  is  broken  by  rapids  and  water- 
falls, and  a  short  distance  below,  where  the  Quando  flows 
into  it  near  the  western  boundary  of  Rhodesia,  are  the 
Victoria  Falls,  which  might  be  called  the  Niagara  of 
Africa. 

The  Victoria  Falls  are  in  many  ways  more  wonderful 
than  Niagara.  A  short  distance  above  them  the  Zambezi 
is  over  a  mile  wide.  A  little  lower  down  it  narrows  and 
its  whole  volume  drops  into  a  great  canyon  several  hundred 
feet  deep,  which  runs  at  right  angles  to  its  course.  The 
water  falls  a  far  greater  distance  than  at  Niagara.  It 
makes  a  noise  like  thunder,  and  goes  raging  and  tumbling 
on  through  a  narrow  gorge  for  thirty-five  miles  before  it 
resumes  its  ordinary  course. 

The  Cape  to  Cairo  Railroad  goes  right  to  the  falls,  and 
there  crosses  the  Zambezi  on  one  of  the  highest  bridges 


RHODESIA  — THE  NIAGARA  OF  AFRICA  28 1 


Victoria  Falls. 

of  the  world,  which  has  been  constructed  over  the  canyon 
below  them.  The  falls  will  be  used,  as  we  are  using 
Niagara,  to  furnish  power  for  factories.  Their  force  is  so 
great  that  it  is  estimated  to  be  equal  to  thirty-five  million 
horses,  all  pulling  at  once.  This  is  many  more  horses  than 
we  have  in  the  whole  United  States. 

We  hear  the  falls  some  time  before  reaching  them.  The 
noise  at  first  sounds  like  the  roar  of  the  ocean.  It  increases 
as  we  come  nearer  ;  and  looking  out  of  the  car  windows  we 
can  see  great  clouds  of  white  mist  rising  in  five  columns, 
hundreds  of  feet  into  the  air. 

We  leave  the  station  and  make  our  way  up  to  where  the 
river  seems  to  lose  itself  in  the  earth.  The  spray  is  falling 
like  rain,  and  our  guides  tell  us  that  this  rain  continues  day 


282  AFRICA 

and  night,  year  in  and  year  out.  There  are  woods  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  the  leaves  of  which  are  always  drip- 
ping, and  the  smoky  mist  above  them  makes  one  think  of 
a  forest  on  fire.  Now  the  wind  has  sprung  up,  and  the 
five  geysers  of  mist  have  been  blown  into  one  great  col- 
umn which  rises  high  over  the  forest.  We  are  on  the 
side  of  the  river  away  from  the  sun.  Its  rays  shine 
through  the  spray,  and  make  glittering  rainbows  which 
sway  to  and  fro  with  the  wind. 

We  go  by  canoes  to  a  Uttle  island  above  the  falls,  and 
afterward  cross  the  Zambezi  to  get  the  view  from  the 
opposite  bank.  We  then  stroll  along  the  canyon,  watch- 
ing the  waters  boiling  and  seething,  now  dashing  spray 
high  into  the  air,  and  now  rolling  about  in  whirlpools  as 
they  fight  their  battles  with  the  rocks  on  their  way  to  the 
sea.  It  is  a  wonderful  sight,  well  compared  to  our  own 
Niagara. 

43.     FARMING    IN    SOUTH    AFRICA 

RETURNING  to  Bulawayo  we  travel  southward  through 
Bechuanaland  and  the  four  provinces  of  the  Union  of 
South  Africa,  visiting  the  towns  and  spending  some  time 
on  the  farms.  We  stop  at  Palapye  (pa-lap 'ye),  a  native 
city  of  twenty  thousand  Kaffirs  who  have  a  large  terri- 
tory, with  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats ;  and  from  Mafeking 
(ma-fa-king')  make  an  excursion  into  the  Kalahari  Desert, 
about  the  outskirts  of  which  there  are  scattering  tribes  of 
Bushmen. 

Most  of  our  journey  over  this  South  African  plateau  is 


FARMING   IN   SOUTH   AFRICA  283 

through  thirsty  lands.  There  are  but  few  streams,  and 
nearly  everywhere  the  soil  is  parched,  brown,  or  bare. 
Now  we  pass  through  a  region  of  stunted  trees,  and  now 
where  there  is  nothing  but  scraggy  thorn  bushes.  The 
only  green  grass  is  along  the  borders  of  the  few  rivers,  or 
where  water  can  be  got  for  irrigation.  The  grazing  farms 
are  large,  as  it  takes  much  land  for  the  stock,  and  the 
homes  of  the  farmers  are  far  apart. 

This  is  so  with  most  of  South  Africa,  except  in  the 
mountains  along  the  eastern  coast,  and  in  Natal  (na-tal'), 
a  province  which  is  so  green  and  beautiful  that  it  is  called 
the  African  Garden.  There  are  also  good  lands  in  the 
other  provinces  of  the  South  African  Union,  namely,  the 
Orange  Free  State,  the  Transvaal,  and  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  or  Cape  Colony.  Next  to  Natal  is  Basutoland 
(ba-soo'to-land),  a  territory  which  has  the  highest  moun- 
tains on  the  continent  south  of  the  equator.  It  has  wild 
ravines,  wooded  glens,  and  slopes  covered  with  green  pas- 
tures. Silvery  waterfalls  pour  down  its  deep  gorges,  and 
it  is  so  beautiful  that  it  is  called  the  Switzerland  of  South 
Africa.  The  country  is  also  fine  about  Cape  Town  ;  but 
above  it  the  land  rises  into  the  great  Karroo,  a  plateau 
almost  as  wild  and  dry  as  the  Kalahari  Desert,  and  higher 
still,  on  another  terrace,  there  are  tracts  bleak  and  bare. 

Some  of  these  lands  make  excellent  farms.  Wheat, 
barley,  oats,  and  corn  are  grown  in  large  quantities.  In 
the  Transvaal  there  are  cotton  plantations  and  extensive 
farms  devoted  to  tobacco.  Cape  Colony  is  noted  as  a 
wine-growing  region,  and  fruits  from  that  province  and 
Natal  are  exported  to  Europe  and  the  United  States.  The 
fruits  here  are  ripe  in  January,  February,  and  March,  the 

CARP.    AFRICA — 1 8  ».— -*-:%-.yv->»-^    .-  -^ 


284 


AFRICA 


summer  of  southern  Africa,   so  that  they  command  high 
prices  in  the  northern  markets,  as  it  is  then  our  winter. 

Stock  farming  is  one  of  the  chief  industries  of  South 
Africa.  Cattle  thrive  in  most  of  the  states,  and  the 
high,  dry  climate  is  especially  fitted  for  sheep,  goats,  and 
ostriches.     The  farmers  are  either  Englishmen  or  Boers, 


Sheep  farm. 

the  descendants  of  the  Dutch  settlers  who  came  to  South 
Africa  long  ago  and  took  up  farms  about  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  When  the  English  came,  the  Boers  moved  back 
into  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal,  and  there 
built  up  a  republic  which  lasted  until  the  war  between  the 
British  and  the  Boers,  when  that  country  came  under  the 
government  of  the  British. 

There  were  cattle  and  sheep  here  when  the  foreigners 
came,  and  the  various  Kaffir  tribes  still  own  stock.  The 
Hottentots  used  oxen  as  pack  and  riding  animals,  and  they 
even  trained  them  as  war  oxen  to  charge  the  enemy.  They 
had  ox  races,  riding  the  animals  without  saddles,  and  direct- 


FARMING   IX   SOUTH   AFRICA  285 

ing  them  by  a  rope  or  strip  of   hide  fastened  hke  bridle 
reins  to  a  small  stick  pierced  through  the  nose  of  the  ox. 

The  descendants  of  these  native  cattle  are  still  to  be 
found,  although  many  finer  breeds  have  been  brought  in 
from  Europe.  The  native  cattle  retain  their  wild  character, 
and  become  dangerous  when  excited  or  disturbed  in  any 
way.  The  cows  will  give  down  their  milk  only  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  calf,  and  a  calf  is  brought  out  at  milking  time. 


Native  cattle. 

Sometimes,  it  is  said,  a  stuffed  calf  is  kept  on  hand  to  be 
shown  to  the  cow.  She  smells  it  and  thereupon  lets  down 
her  milk. 

We  find  large  sheep  farms  in  Cape  Colony  and  also  in 
the  other  states.  South  Africa  vies  with  AustraHa  and 
Argentina  as  one  of  the  best  sheep  lands  upon  earth,  and 
its  wool  commands  high  prices  in  our  markets.     Sheep 


286  AFRICA 

thrive  in  the  rich  pastures  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains, 
and  also  upon  the  Karroo  plateau,  where  the  pasturage  is 
so  scanty  that  from  three  to  twelve  acres  are  required  for 
one  sheep. 

The  native  sheep  are  brown,  with  heavy,  flat  tails  made 
up  of  fat.  Some  such  sheep  are  still  owned  by  the  natives, 
but  the  most  common  flocks  are  merinos  and  other  fine 
breeds. 

We  visit  several  sheep  farms.  The  sheep  are  kept  in 
large  fields,  and  strange  to  say  a  flock  often  has  one  or 
more  goats  in  it,  the  goats  serving  as  sheep  dogs.  They 
are  trained  to  lead  the  flock  from  field  to  field,  and  are 
especially  valuable  when  it  is  necessary  to  drive  the  sheep 
from  one  part  of  the  country  to  the  other.  The  goats 
will  even  lead  them  across  the  streams.  They  swim  in 
front,  and  the  sheep  follow ;  after  they  have  taken  one 
flock  across  in  this  way,  some  of  them  are  so  trained  that 
they  will  then  turn  around,  swim  back,  and  a  little  later 
bring  across  another  flock. 

Goat  raising  is  now  common  throughout  these  colonies. 
Angora  goats  have  been  imported  from  Asia  Minor  and 
elsewhere.  They  are  grown  for  their  wool,  known  as  mohair, 
which  is  used  to  make  ladies'  dress  goods  and  other  fine 
cloths.  There  are  now  more  goats  than  cattle  in  South 
Africa.  There  are  more  than  five  million  in  Cape  Colony 
alone,  and  the  mohair  shorn  from  them  amounts  to  milHons 
of  pounds  every  year. 

Many  of  the  South  African  farms  are  far  from  the  rail- 
roads. The  wool  and  grain  are  brought  to  the  trains  in 
huge  wagons,  each  drawn  by  a  long  team  of  oxen.  Often 
twenty  or  thirty   of   these  beasts  will   be  yoked    to   one 


FARMING   IX   SOUTH   AFRICA  28/ 

wagon,  which  creaks  and  shrieks  as  it  is  dragged  over  the 
rough  road.  The  oxen  are  usually  driven  by  black-skinned 
Kaffirs,  who  form  to  a  large  extent  the  farm  hands  of  this 
country. 

We  now  and  then  stop  to  talk  with  the  farmers.  They 
tell  us  their  troubles,  and  we  find  that  they  have  quite  as 
many  as  our  farmers  at  home.  In  the  frontier  regions 
there  are  leopards,  jackals,  baboons,  and  lions  which  prey 
on  the  flocks ;  and  some  regions  are  infested  by  the  ter- 
rible tsetse  or  poison  fly,  whose  bite  kills  horses,  oxen, 
sheep,  and  dogs.  This  fly  is  found  in  many  parts  of  Africa, 
and  it  destroys  thousands  of  animals  every  year.  It  looks 
very  much  like  a  small  bee,  save  that  its  body  is  marked  by 
yellow  bands. 

Another  trouble  of  the  South  African  farmer  is  the 
horse  sickness,  which  attacks  horses  and  mules ;  and  still 
another,  the  rinderpest,  which  kills  the  cattle.  In  addition 
there  are  seasons  of  draught,  when  the  crops  are  burned 
by  the  sun,  and  the  cattle  and  sheep  die  of  thirst  and 
hunger ;  and  at  other  times  hailstorms,  when  hailstones, 
some  as  big  as  hens'  eggs,  destroy  the  grain  and  fruit  and 
even  kill  fowls  and  goats. 

As  we  ride  over  the  country  on  the  railroad  we  pass 
through  a  great  cloud  of  locusts.  There  are  so  many  that 
they  darken  the  sky,  and  the  trainmen  tell  us  that  they 
sometimes  even  stop  the  cars,  their  crushed  bodies  so 
greasing  the  rails  that  the  wheels  spin  round  and  round 
without  moving  onward.  The  locusts  come  only  occasion- 
ally, but  in  such  swarms  that  they  eat  up  everything  green 
in  their  track.  They  ruin  the  crops,  and  the  European 
settlers  endeavor  to  poison  and  kill  them  in  various  ways. 


288  AFRICA 


44.    A   VISIT   TO    AN    OSTRICH    FARM 

THERE  is  one  kind  of  farming  that  thrives  better  in 
South  Africa  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  This 
is  ostrich  farming.  Africa  is  the  home  of  the  ostrich. 
The  great  bird  is  found  in  a  wild  state  on  the  edges  of 
the  Sahara  and  Kalahari  Deserts,  and  also  in  Abyssinia 
and  Somaliland  (so-ma'le-land). 

When  the  English  first  came,  ostriches  roamed  in  large 
numbers  over  the  great  Karroo  and  other  dry  parts  of  the 
South  African  plateau,  and  men  hunted  them.  They 
chased  them  on  horseback  with  dogs,  and  shot  them 
whenever  they  could.  The  natives  hunted  the  wild  birds 
with  bovv^s  and  arrows,  hiding  in  the  sand  about  their 
nests,  and  shooting  them  when  they  came  near.  The 
chase  has  been  so  vigorously  carried  on  that  wild  ostriches 
have  almost  disappeared.  They  are  now  seldom  seen 
except  in  the  wilder  parts  of  the  continent. 

Most  of  the  ostrich  feathers  of  commerce  come  from 
tame  ostriches,  which  are  reared  upon  farms.  In  gather- 
ing the  wild  feathers,  the  ostrich  is  killed  by  the  hunters, 
and  each  bird  furnishes  but  one  crop  of  plumes.  The 
feathers  of  the  tame  ostrich  are  plucked  every  seven  or 
eight  months,  so  that  one  bird  gives  many  crops. 

Until  within  the  last  century  it  was  not  known  that 
ostriches  could  be  domesticated.  Then  an  English  farmer 
near  Cape  Town  caught  some  little  ones  and  tamed 
them.  He  kept  them  in  fields  with  fences  so  high  that 
they  could  not  jump  over,  and  fed  them,  plucking  the 
feathers    twice    every   year.      The    ostriches    grew,    they 


A  VISIT  TO   AN   OSTRICH    FARM  289 

dug  out  nests  in  the  sand,  and  laid  eggs  and  hatched 
them. 

They  thrived  so  well  that  the  business  became  profit- 
able. Then  other  farms  were  started,  and  the  habits 
of  the  birds  were  studied  in  order  to  learn  the  best 
ways  of  feeding  and  caring  for  them.  Later  the  great 
eggs  were  hatched  in  incubators,  as  well  as  by  the 
ostriches  themselves  ;  and  now  ostrich  farming  has  be- 
come one  of  the  most  important  industries  of  South 
Africa.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  birds  are  reared  on 
the  farms,  and  the  feathers  sold  bring  in  a  large  sum  every 
year. 

But  suppose  we  visit  an  ostrich  farm  situated  on  these 
high,  sandy  plains  which  were  once  the  home  of  the  wild 
ostrich.  We  drive  from  the  railroad  across  the  country, 
which  is  covered  with  gray,  stunted  bushes  and  a  scanty 
growth  of  brown  grass.  The  farmer's  home  is  a  square, 
brick  building  surrounded  by  green  grass  and  shaded  by 
trees.  He  has  a  spring  near  his  house,  and  parts  of  the 
farm  are  well  watered.  The  farm  contains  about  fifteen 
thousand  acres.  It  is  divided  into  large  fields  by  high 
wire  fences,  and  upon  it  there  are  now  more  than  one 
thousand  ostriches  of  all  ages  and  sizes. 

We  see  some  ostriches  on  our  way  to  the  house.  What 
huge  birds  they  are  and  how  odd  !  They  are  sometimes 
called  giraffe  birds  or  camel  birds,  from  their  long  necks 
and  oddly-shaped  bodies.  Those  in  the  field  are  taller 
than  the  tallest  man.  See!  Some  of  them  have  put  their 
heads  over  the  high  wire  fence  as  though  they  would  peck 
at  us  as  we  go  by.  Notice  how  small  their  heads  are  and 
how  big  the  eyes !     They  snap  their  long,  wide,  flat  bills, 


290 


AFRICA 


and  the  noise  sounds  like  a  pistol.  Their  snakelike  necks 
are  covered  with  fuzzy  feathers,  their  great  legs  are  bare, 
and  on  their  bodies  are  beautiful  plumes.  Some  of  the 
ostriches  are  gray  and  some  glossy  black.  The  gray 
ostriches  are  the  smaller,  they  are  the  hens  ;  the  black  ones 
are  the  cocks. 

Now  we  have  left  our  carriages  and  are  approaching 
the  fence.  The  ostriches  start  off  on  a  trot.  They  can 
not  fly,  but  can  run  as  fast  as  a  horse.  See  how  they 
spread  out  their  wings ;  they  seem  to  swim  on  the  air 
as  they  race  over  the  field. 


"They  are  covered  with  down,   ..." 

Our  ostrich  farmer  is  an  Englishman.  He  is  glad  to 
have  visitors  at  his  lonely  home  on  the  plain.  He  asks 
us  to  rest  awhile,  and  then  takes  us  over  the  farm.  The 
fields  nearest  the  house  are  devoted  to  the  ostrich  chicks 
and  to  rearing  young  birds.  Here  is  one  in  which  two- 
score  baby  ostriches  are  feeding.  What  odd-looking 
creatures !      They    are    covered   with    down,    like    little 


A   VISIT  TO   AN   OSTRICH   FARM  29 1 

chickens  just  hatched ;  their  bodies  are  as  big  as  a  full- 
grown  Plymouth  Rock  hen,  and  they  seem  all  eyes,  legs, 
and  neck.  Their  eyes  are  as  large  as  those  of  a  baby. 
The  chicks  are  gathered  about  an  old  Hottentot  who  is 
feeding  them  grass  and  the  fine  gravel  with  which  they 
fill  their  little  gizzards  to  grind  up  their  food.  He  gives 
them  also  wheat  and  water  and  broken-up  bones.  These 
birds  were  hatched  in  the  incubator  only  a  few  days  ago, 
and  their  Hottentot  nurse  must  watch  them  carefully  to 
keep  them  from  catching  cold,  bringing  them  back  to  their 
warm  brooding  place  in  the  evening.  He  treats  the  chicks 
as  though  they  were  his  children,  and  they  follow  him 
wherever  he  goes. 

In  the  next  field  are  two  old  birds  and  about  twenty 
young  ones.  They  are  watched  over  by  a  Kaffir,  who 
has  been  with  them  every  day  since  the  young  birds  were 
hatched.  This  is  to  keep  them  tame  and  accustomed  to 
man,  and  also  to  see  that  the  jackals,  lynxes,  and  other 
wild  animals  do  not  destroy  them  at  night.  Ostriches 
have  many  enemies,  and,  in  these  large  inclosures,  some 
of  which  contain  hundreds  of  acres,  it  is  hard  to  protect 
them. 

Going  onward,  we  stroll  over  one  great  range  or  field 
after  another.  There  are  flocks  of  full-grown  ostriches  in 
many  of  them,  and  we  are  warned  to  be  careful.  The 
male  is  fierce  when  the  hen  is  laying  her  eggs  or  hatching, 
and  will  attack  any  one  who  comes  near  the  nest.  The 
farmer  gives  each  of  us  a  bush  with  long  thorns  upon  it, 
and  tells  us  to  thrust  this  at  the  head  of  any  bird  that  runs 
at  us.  The  ostrich  is  afraid  of  hurting  its  eyes,  and  keeps 
away  from  the  thorns. 


292  AFRICA 

The  cock  ostrich  is  dangerous  when  enraged.  It  is  not 
afraid  ;  it  will  run  at  its  enemy  as  fast  as  a  horse  can 
gallop,  and  jump  at  him  and  kick  him.  The  ostrich  can 
give  a  terrible  blow.  It  kicks  forward  and  downward ; 
the  kick  loses  its  force  as  the  foot  nears  the  ground.  For 
this  reason  an  ostrich  can  not  well  strike  a  man  lying  down  ; 
and  the  keepers,  when  a  mad  ostrich  attacks  them  and 
they  have  no  means  of  defense,  sometimes  throw  them- 
selves flat  on  the  sand.  The  bird  will  then  kneel  on  them 
and  bite  them ;  but  he  can  not  do  so  much  injury  as 
when  they  were  standing. 

We  are  attacked  as  we  pass  through  one  of  the  fields. 
A  cock  ostrich  rushes  at  us,  but  the  farmer  keeps  him 
off  with  his  thorn  bush,  and  finally  shows  us  the  nest 
upon  which  his  mate,  a  big  hen  ostrich,  is  sitting.  She 
has  seventeen  eggs  under  her  in  a  hole  as  big  as  a  wash- 
tub,  which  the  cock  has  dug  out  of  the  sand.  She  runs 
off  as  we  come  up,  and  the  cock  and  she  now  stand  about 
and  cry  as  we  handle  the  eggs,  which  they  are  afraid  we 
may  break. 

The  eggs  are  almost  as  large  as  our  heads.  Each 
weighs  about  three  pounds,  and  contains  as  much  matter 
as  eighteen  hen's  eggs.  They  are  white  with  black  specks 
on  them.  Ostrich  eggs  are  good  eating  when  fresh.  A 
single  one  will  make  an  omelette  for  a  large  family  ;  the 
omelette  tastes  just  like  one  made  of  hens'  eggs. 

The  hen  ostrich  lays  about  twenty  eggs  before  sitting, 
and  sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  or  forty.  The  cock  and 
hen  work  in  partnership  in  fixing  the  nest  and  hatching 
the  eggs.  The  hen  selects  the  place  for  the  nest,  and 
the  cock  digs  the  hole.     He  sits  down  in  the  sand,  and  by 


A   VISIT  TO   AN   OSTRICH   FARM  293 

picking  and  pawing  and  twisting  himself  about  makes  a 
wide,  deep  place  for  the  eggs.  When  the  sitting  begins, 
both  birds  take  daily  turns,  the  cock  usually  sitting  by 
night  and  the  hen  by  day.  They  keep  this  up  for  about 
six  weeks,  which  is  just  twice  as  long  as  is  required  to 
hatch  chicken  eggs.  The  cock  spends  the  longest  time 
on  the  nest,  and  he  sometimes  drives  the  hen  back  to  her 
duty  if  she  leaves  the  eggs  when  she  should  not. 

The  cock  ostrich  is  a  good  husband  and  father.  He 
is  anxious  about  his  children,  and  he  sometimes  breaks 
the  shells  for  them  when  he  hears  them  trying  to  peck  their 
way  out.  The  shell  of  an  ostrich  egg  is  about  as  thick  as 
the  pasteboard  cover  of  a  school  book,  and  we  can  see 
that  it  is  hard  for  the  baby  chicks  to  peck  their  way 
through.  So  when  the  father  hears  them  tap,  tap,  tap, 
he  squeezes  the  Qgg  between  his  breastbone  and  the  sand 
until  it  breaks ;  he  then  tears  the  inside  skin  with  his 
bill  and  lets  the  baby  out.  A  few  hours  afterward  the 
little  one  is  toddling  around  on  its  long  legs,  and  a  day  or 
so  later  it  is  eating  all  it  can  get. 

A  baby  ostrich  grows  fast.  When  it  is  a  month  old  it 
is  as  large  as  a  turkey,  and  at  eight  or  nine  months  its 
feathers  are  ready  for  their  first  picking.  They  are  then 
of  little  value,  but  they  grow  better  and  better,  and  are 
picked  regularly  every  seven  months  until  the  bird  is  full 
grown  ;  this  is  at  three  or  four  years,  after  which  it  may 
produce  more  than  one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  feathers 
a  year.  An  ostrich  often  reaches  the  age  of  seventy  or 
eighty  years. 

Our  farmer  asks  us  to  go  with  him  to  a  field  where  they 
are   plucking   some   birds.      One    hundred    fine  ostriches 


294 


AFRICA 


have  been  driven  in  by  Kaffirs  on  horseback,  and  are 
now  inclosed  in  a  small  field  which  has  some  little  pens  at 
one  end.  Each  pen  is  just  large  enough  to  hold  one 
ostrich  and  his  pluckers ;  but  so  small  that  the  ostrich  has 
not  room  to  kick  while  in  it.  The  Kaffirs  drive  the  birds 
into  the  pens,  using  thorn  bushes  to  guide  them. 


Young  ostriches. 

As  soon  as  a  bird  is  inside,  the  bars  are  put  up,  and  a 
cloth  like  a  stocking  is  drawn  over  its  head.  While  thus 
blindfolded  it  keeps  quiet.  The  wings  are  now  raised,  and 
the  long,  beautiful  ostrich  plumes,  which  grow  there,  are 
cut  off  close  to  the  skin.  There  are  twenty-five  of  these 
in  each  wing;  they  are  beautifully  white  on  the  male 
birds,    and    white,    tipped    with    gray    or   yellow,    on    the 


KIMBERLEY   AND   THE   DIAMOND    MINES  295 

females.  The  shorter  feathers,  which  make  ostrich  tips,  are 
now  cHpped  and  then  the  tail  feathers,  of  which  sixty  or 
more  are  most  valuable.  In  all  about  three  hundred 
feathers  and  tips  are  taken  from  one  bird,  and  these  will 
all  grow  again  in  a  space  of  seven  months.  The  best 
feathers  come  from  the  male  birds. 

After  plucking,  the  feathers  are  sorted  and  graded. 
They  are  tied  up  in  bundles  and  sent  to  the  ports  for 
shipment  to  Europe.  There  they  are  cleaned  and  dyed, 
the  white  plumes  only  being  left  as  they  come  from  the 
bird.  Most  of  the  feathers  go  first  to  London ;  from 
where  they  find  their  way  to  the  hats  and  bonnets  of  the 
ladies  of  the  civilized  world. 


■oo>»4c 


45.    KIMBERLEY   AND    THE    DIAMOND   MINES 

WE  begin  our  travels  this  morning  in  the  heart 
of  the  richest  diamond  field  of  the  world.  We 
are  in  Kimberley  on  the  high  plateau  of  South  Africa, 
almost  seven  hundred  miles  north  of  Cape  Town  and  five 
hundred  miles  from  the  east  coast,  in  the  middle  of  a  vast, 
sandy  plain,  with  no  trees  except  those  in  the  city  itself. 
The  land  is  almost  a  desert,  with  scarcely  a  hill  in  sight  to 
break  the  view.  It  has  no  water  nearer  than  the  Vaal 
(val)  River,  which  is  seventeen  miles  away,  and,  when  the 
wind  is  high,  the  sand  blows  through  the  streets,  penetrating 
every  crack  and  crevice  of  the  houses. 

To  look  at  the  country  one  would  not  suppose  it  worth 
anything,  and  the  stranger  might  ask  how  this  thriving 
city,  with  its  electric  lights,  fine  shops,  hotels,  and  daily 


296 


AFRICA 


newspapers,  came  to  exist.  He  might  wonder  at  the  well- 
dressed  crowds  on  the  streets  and  at  the  business  which 
goes  on  everywhere.  He  would  soon  learn  that  Kimberley 
is  one  of  the  richest  towns  upon  earth.  The  land  about  it 
produces  more  wealth  than  almost  any  other  of  the  same 
area ;  and  this  wealth  comes  from  the  diamonds  found 
in  the  ground.     More  than  ninety-five  per  cent  of  all  the 


Rough  diamonds. 

diamonds  now  produced  come  from  this  region,  and  larger, 
purer,  and  finer  stones  are  found  here  than  anywhere  else. 
Within  about  forty  years  more  than  fifteen  tons  of  dia- 
monds have  been  taken  out  of  this  part  of  South  Africa. 
A  ton  makes  quite  a  load  for  two  horses,  and  if  you  will 
imagine  as  many  diamonds  as  thirty  horses  all  pulling  at 
once  could  haul,  you  may  have  some  idea  of  the  enormous 
quantity  of  the  jewels  comprised  in  the  fifteen  tons. 

It  takes  only  a  small  diamond  to  be  worth  one  hundred 
dollars,  and,  as  you  may  imagine,  this  product  is  worth 


KIMBERLEY    AND   THE    DIAMOND    MINES  297 

many,  many  millions.  As  much  as  twenty-five  million 
dollars'  worth  of  diamonds  are  now  taken  out  of  Kimberley 
in  one  year,  and  thousands  of  men  are  working  getting 
the  precious  stones  out  of  the  earth. 

In  ancient  times  India  suppHed  the  chief  diamonds  of 
the  world.  Then  some  were  found  in  Brazil  not  far  from 
Bahia,  and  thousands  of  diamond  seekers  rushed  to  that 
place.  No  one  then  supposed  that  there  were  diamonds 
in  South  Africa,  and  it  was  not  until  1867  that  a  man 
named  John  O'Reilly  made  the  first  diamond  discovery. 
O'Reilly  was  hunting  near  the  V^aal  River  when  he  stopped 
to  rest  one  night  on  the  farm  of  Schalk  van  Niekerk,  a 
Dutchman,  who  lived  there,  away  off  in  the  wilderness. 
As  the  hunter  chatted  with  his  host  he  saw  some  beautiful 
pebbles  from  the  banks  of  the  Vaal  River  lying  on  the 
table.  He  admired  them,  and  his  host  told  him  to  take 
them  along  if  he  liked.  He  did  so  and  among  them  found 
one  that  would  cut  glass.  He  showed  it  to  a  jeweler,  who 
told  him  it  was  a  diamond,  and  that  it  was  worth  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars. 

As  soon  as  this  became  known,  both  Europeans  and 
natives  began  to  search  that  region  for  diamonds  ;  but  it 
was  about  two  years  before  another  large  stone  was  dis- 
covered. This  was  found  by  a  Hottentot,  who  traded  it 
to  Schalk  van  Niekerk  for  a  little  drove  of  cattle  and  some 
sheep  worth  about  two  thousand  dollars.  Van  Niekerk 
sold  the  stone  to  the  diamond  merchants  for  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  and  they  sent  it  to  England,  where,  after  cutting, 
it  was  bought  by  the  Countess  of  Dudley  for  more  than 
twice  that  amount.  It  proved  to  be  a  pure  white  diamond, 
weighing  about  three  and  one  half  ounces. 


298  AFRICA 

At  the  news  of  this  great  find,  many  men  came  and 
camped  along  the  banks  of  the  Vaal  and  Orange  rivers, 
digging  up  the  gravel  and  searching  for  diamonds.  They 
found  none  to  speak  of  along  the  Orange  River,  but  some 
here  and  there  along  the  Vaal,  and  they  gradually  pushed 
out,  searching  the  land  until  they  came  to  where  we  are 
now.  Here  more  of  the  precious  stones  were  discovered 
than  anywhere  else,  and  they  dug  up  the  ground  and 
washed  it  to  see  if  some  might  not  lie  beneath. 

After  a  short  time  they  found  several  places  near  Kim- 
berley  where  there  were  quantities  of  diamonds  mixed 
with  the  earth,  running  down  no  one  knows  how  far  under 
the  ground.  At  the  surface  were  a  few  feet  of  red  sand, 
and  under  that  a  somewhat  thicker  deposit  of  limestone. 
Below  the  limestone  lay  the  hard  clay  containing  the 
diamonds.  The  clay  is  blue  in  color  and  the  diamond- 
iferous  earth  is  called  blue  ground.  It  is  composed  of 
fragments  of  many  kinds  of  rock  and  among  them  the 
diamonds,  the  whole  cemented,  as  it  were,  into  one  soUd 
mass  of  clay.  The  blue  ground  extends  downward  in  the 
shape  of  great  pipes  or  funnels.  When  taken  out  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  being  wet  with  water  from  time  to  time, 
it  crumbles  to  pieces,  so  that  the  rocks  and  clay  can  be 
washed  away  and  the  diamonds  picked  out. 

At  first  mines  were  sunk  everywhere  throughout  the 
diamond  territory  to  learn  where  the  best  deposits  were, 
and  from  them  it  was  ascertained  that  there  were  four 
principal  fields  all  lying  about  Kimberley  in  a  circle  not 
more  than  three  and  one  half  miles  in  diameter.  These 
mines  are  the  Kimberley,  the  De  Beers,  the  Dutoitspan, 
and  the  Bulfontein. 


KIMBERLEY  AND  THE   DIAMOND   MINES 


299 


All  the  mining 


At  the  beginning,  the  mines  were  worked  from  above, 
like  a  stone  quarry  or  gravel  pit,  the  blue  ground  being 
carried  to  the  surface  in  baskets  over  cables  of  wire.  Then 
great  shafts  or  pits  were  sunk  along  one  side  of  the  blue 
ground  deposit,  and  tunnels  were  made  from  the  shafts  by 
which  the  blue  rock  was  brought  out  and  carried  to  the 
surface  by  machinery  operated  by  steam, 
is  now  on  a  grand 
scale ;  and  the  best 
of  the  diamond  ter- 
ritory has  been 
bought  by  one  com- 
pany, known  as  the 
De  Beers  Company, 
which  has  a  capital 
of  twenty  million 
dollars,  and  practi- 
cally controls  the 
diamond  product  of 
South  Africa. 

We  have  letters  of 
introduction  to  the 
managers  of  this  company,  and  through  them  are  furnished 
a  guide  who  takes  us  down  into  the  works  and  shows  us 
how  diamonds  are  mined.  We  go  to  the  shaft  and  step 
into  the  elevator.  The  guide  gives  a  signal  and  we  sink 
down,  down  into  the  darkness.  Now  we  pass  a  tunnel, 
where  half-naked  Kaffirs  are  blasting  out  the  rock  and  load- 
ing it  upon  trucks,  which  they  shove  over  tramways  to  the 
shaft,  only  to  drop  again  into  the  darkness  and  descend  until 
at  last  we  stop  more  than  a  thousand  feet  underground. 

CARP.   AFRICA —  I9 


In  a  diamond  mine. 


300  AFRICA 

We  walk  off  through  a  tunnel,  following  the  car  track  to 
where  the  miners  are  working.  They  are  black-skinned 
natives  wearing  little  more  than  a  cloth  about  the  waist. 
Some  have  picks  and  are  digging  down  the  blue  rock, 
others  are  Ufting  the  great  lumps  into  cars,  and  others  are 
wheeling  the  trucks  to  the  shafts.  It  is  hot,  and  drops  of 
sweat  stand  out  on  their  black  skins  as  they  work. 

The  mine  is  Hghted  by  electricity,  and  we  can  see  every- 
thing as  plainly  as  though  it  were  day.  Our  guide  shows 
us  the  rock,  and  we  take  some  up  in  our  hands.  It  feels 
like  soap,  and  we  look  in  vain  for  diamonds  in  it. 

After  a  while  we  go  with  the  cars  up  the  elevator,  and 
follow  them  from  the  top  of  the  shaft  to  the  drying  fields, 
where  men  are  spreading  the  blue  rock  over  the  ground. 
The  whole  looks  like  a  freshly  plowed  field  of  blue  earth. 
The  great  clods  are  as  hard  as  sandstone,  and  it  requires 
months  of  weathering  before  they  are  ready  for  washing. 
From  time  to  time  water  is  sprinkled  over  them,  and  now 
and  then  the  field  is  harrowed.  These  processes  make 
the  rock  soft ;  it  begins  to  crumble,  and  is  then  ready  for 
washing. 

The  blue  stuff  is  now  taken  up  and  put  into  cylinders 
and  pans,  and  whirled  round  and  round.  Water  is  admitted 
from  time  to  time.  The  blue  clay  melts  and  flows  off  in  a 
mud,  and  the  gravel  containing  the  diamonds  rolls  down 
over  sloping  iron  tables  covered  with  grease.  The  dia- 
monds, which  are  heavier  than  the  other  stones,  fall  to  the 
bottom  and  stick  in  the  grease,  so  that  every  now  and  then 
the  grease  containing  the  diamonds  can  be  scraped  off. 
It  is  then  melted,  and  all  the  diamonds  are  saved.  As 
we  look    at    them    they    do    not    seem    very    bright.      A 


KIMBERLEY  AND  THE   DIAMOND   MINES 


301 


rough  diamond  is  like  a  white  stone,  and  shows  but  little 
of  the  brilliancy  it  will  have  when  cut  and  polished. 

The  rough  diamonds  are  next  taken  to  the  company's 
office,  where  they  are  cleaned  with  acids  and  carefully 
classified  with  reference  to  color,  size,  and  purity.  They 
are  then  made  up  into  parcels  and  valued,  and  are  sold  to 


Sorting  room. 

local  buyers  who  represent  the  chief  diamond  dealers  of 
the  world.  These  men  ship  them  to  Europe  and  the 
United  States,  where  they  are  cut  and  polished  and  made 
into  jewelry.  The  chief  diamond  polishers  of  the  world 
are  in  Amsterdam  ;  we  have  already  visited  them  during 
our  travels  in  Europe,  in  another  book  of  this  series. 

South  African  diamonds  are  of  a  great  variety  of  colors. 
The  most  valuable  are  pure  white,  but  others  are  green, 
blue,  pink,  brown,  yellow,  and  orange.     The  size,  purity, 


302 


AFRICA 


and  color  determine  the  value.  In  March,  1888,  a  yellow 
diamond  was  found  in  the  De  Beers  mine  which  weighed 
four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  carats  in  the  rough,  and 
two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  carats  when  it  was  cut ;  but 

this  was  sur- 
passed by  a  dia- 
mond weighing 
nine  hundred  and 
seventy  carats, 
discovered  in  the 
Orange  Free  State 
six  years  later.  A 
still  larger  one, 
weighing  over 
three  thousand 
carats,  was  found 
in  the  Transvaal 
in    1905. 

As  we  walk 
through  the  mine 
we  ask  our  guide 
if  diamonds  are 
not  often  stolen.  He  replies  that  this  is  sometimes  the 
case,  although  every  precaution  is  used  to  prevent  it. 
The  natives  who  are  employed  must  each  engage  to  stay 
in  the  mines  for  three  months.  They  live,  while  not  at 
work,  in  compounds  or  great  open  squares  connected  with 
the  mines.  Each  square  is  lined  with  the  iron  sheds  where 
the  men  sleep,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  close,  high,  iron  fence. 
It  has  a  roof  of  fine  wiie  netting  to  prevent  any  one  throw- 
ing the  diamonds  whicii  he  may  have  stolen  to  his  friends 


One  of  the  lare'est  diamonds  ever  found. 


THE  GOLD    MINES  OF  SOUTH   AFRICA  303 

outside.  The  men  are  carefully  watched  while  at  work  to 
see  that  they  do  not  either  swallow  the  diamonds  or  conceal 
them  about  their  persons ;  and  they  are  often  searched  to 
find  whether  they  have  not  hidden  a  stone  under  their  arm- 
pits, between  the  toes,  or  even  in  sores  made  for  the  pur- 
pose in  their  bodies.  Each  man  is  given  a  new  suit  of 
clothes  when  he  enters  the  mine,  and  he  is  stripped  and 
carefully  examined  before  he  leaves.  In  addition  to  this, 
the  law  has  severe  penalties  for  buying  diamonds  of 
natives,  or  others  who  can  not  show  just  how  they  got 
them. 

46.    THE    GOLD    MINES    OF    SOUTH    AFRICA  — 
JOHANNESBURG 

AFRICA  was  known  as  a  land  of  gold  before  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  was  discovered.  The  caravans  brought 
the  precious  metal  from  the  Sudan  down  to  Egypt,  and  fabu- 
lous stories  were  told  of  rich  gold  mines  far  up  the  Nile. 
When  Vasco  da  Gama  was  returning  from  his  first  voyage 
to  India,  he  stopped  at  Sofala  Bay  not  far  below  Beira,  and 
found  there  a  colony  of  Arabs  who  were  trading  with  the 
natives  for  gold.  This  gold  had  already  been  an  article 
of  commerce  for  many  years.  It  had  come  from  far  in 
the  interior,  where  are  still  the  remains  of  ancient  mines. 
Some  think  the  gold  used  in  Solomon's  Temple  may  have 
been  dug  from  those  mines. 

Later  on,  gold,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  dust,  was  discovered 
along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  in  such  quantities  that  that  region 
became  known  as  the  Gold  Coast.  The  Enghsh  coins,  into 
which  it  was  made,  were  called  guineas  because  they  were 


304  AFRICA 

composed  of  this  Guinea  gold.  They  were  first  made  in 
the  time  of  Charles  II.  The  guinea  contained  twenty-one 
shillings,  or  a  little  more  than  five  dollars'  worth  of  gold. 
It  is  not  used  now,  although  it  forms  one  of  the  units  of 
money  calculations  in  Great  Britain. 

The  chief  gold  mines  of  Africa  were  not  discovered 
until  within  the  past  half  century.  Then  a  German  ex- 
plorer who  had  traveled  over  this  great  southern  plateau 
from  the  Limpopo  to  the  Vaal  returned  to  Berlin  and  said 
that  it  was  full  of  gold  from  river  to  river.  His  story  was 
disbelieved,  and  he  died  before  he  could  take  people  back 
to  South  Africa  to  prove  it.  About  1884,  however,  the 
existence  of  gold  became  known,  and  a  little  later  it  was 
found  that  here  lay  some  of  the  richest  gold  deposits  of 
the  world.  They  are  on  the  highlands  between  the  Lim- 
popo and  the  Vaal  rivers,  several  hundred  miles  west  of 
the  Indian  Ocean,  and  about  one  thousand  miles  north  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  They  lie  in  the  Transvaal  on  the 
very  roof  of  South  Africa,  the  district  being  known  as  the 
Witwatersrand  (vit-va'ters-rant),  a  Dutch  word  meaning 
''white  water  ridge."  This  ridge  rises  about  three  hundred 
feet  above  the  surrounding  country,  running  for  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  east  and  west.  Throughout  its  whole 
distance  gold  has  been  found,  and  hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars'  worth  of  that  metal  have  been  taken  out  of  it. 
During  recent  times  gold  to  the  value  of  more  than  one 
hundred  and  seventy  million  dollars  has  been  mined  in 
a  single  year.  This  sum  is  equal  to  more  than  one  third 
of  the  gold  produced  by  the  world  in  that  year. 

We  reach  the  gold  regions  by  taking  a  train  from  Kim- 
berley  to  Johannesburg  (yo-han'nes-burg).     The  trip  is  a 


THE   GOLD    MIXES   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


305 


tiresome  one.  We  are  more  than  a  day  on  the  cars,  riding 
over  this  bleak,  dusty  plateau.  Now  we  pass  a  little 
village,  and  now  the  home  of  a  farmer  surrounded  by  trees. 
We  see  herds  of  cattle  and  numerous  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats.  At  one  time  we  ride  by  an  ostrich  farm,  and  several 
of  the  huge  birds  spread  out  their  wings  and  fairly  swim 
upon  the  air  as  they  race  with  the  train.     There  are  long 


In  a  gold  mine. 

teams  of  ox  wagons  at  the  stations,  and  now  and  then  a 
group  of  dark-skinned  natives  stand  and  stare  as  the  cars 
go  whizzing  by.  The  air  is  wonderfully  clear,  and  we 
can  see  ranges  of  blue  hills  here  and  there  in  the  distance. 
We  cross  the  Orange  Free  State  and  enter  the  Trans- 
vaal, and  after  a  few  hours  find  ourselves  coming  into 
Johannesburg,  The  Golden  City,  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
gold  region.  The  smokestacks  of  the  mines  are  visible 
long  before  we  get  to  the  city,  and  they  extend  for  miles 
away  on  either  side.     The  great  buildings  near  them  con- 


3o6 


AFRICA 


tain  mining  machinery  and  smelting  works,  and  the  piles 
of  refuse  are  the  waste  from  which  the  gold  has  been 
taken.  There  are  cabs  at  the  station,  and  we  ride  in  com- 
fort through  wide  and  well-paved  streets  to  the  hotel. 


Smelting  works. 

We  are  now  in  one  of  the  busiest  cities  of  Africa.  Johan- 
nesburg is  larger  than  any  other  town  we  have  seen  since 
we  left  Cairo,  and  more  like  one  of  our  cities  at  home.  It 
has  beautiful  houses,  big  stores,  and  fine  public  buildings. 
It  has  daily  newspapers,  a  free  library,  and  public  schools. 
There  are  street  cars  going  in  every  direction  ;  also  auto- 
mobiles, cabs  of  all  kinds,  and  even  jinrikshas.  We  ride 
out  to  the  parks,  and  in  the  pleasure  grounds  of  the  Wan- 
derers' Club  watch  a  cricket  match,  and  see  boys  and  girls 
riding  bicycles  on  tracks  made  for  the  purpose. 

We  walk  out  of  our  hotel  into  Commissioner  Street,  shop- 
ping at  stores  as  fine  as  those  of  our  great  cities,  and  later 
stroll  on  down  to  the  market  square  in  the  center  of  the 


THE   GOLD   MINES   OF  SOUTH    AFRICA 


307 


city.  It  is  a  great  space  filled  with  ox  wagons  loaded  with 
hay,  grain,  and  other  products  which  have  been  brought  in 
from  the  country  about.  The  Transvaal  and  Orange 
Free  State  have  good  grazing  lands,  and  the  farmers 
travel  many  miles  to  sell  their  crops  in  this  square.  Some 
of  the  wagons  are   owned   by   Dutch,   others   by   English 


Commissioner  Street. 

men,  and  a  few  are  driven  by  black-skinned  natives  who 
are  usually  servants. 

We  watch  the  buying  for  a  few  moments  and  then 
enter  the  market  buildings,  in  the  center  of  the  square,  to 
see  the  retail  buying  and  seUing.  Next  we  stroll  on  to 
the  Post  Office  and  thence  to  the  Stock  Exchange,  being 
jostled  on  our  way  by  one  of  the  strangest  crowds  of 
this  strange  continent. 


3o8  AFRICA 

Johannesburg  has  people  from  all  parts  of  Europe 
who  have  come  here  to  mme  or  do  business.  There 
are  also  thousands  of  Kaffirs  and  other  natives,  who  work 
in  the  gold  mines,  and  many  Hindoos  and  Arabs  and  even 
Chinese.  The  yellow-skinned,  the  black-skinned,  and  the 
brown-skinned  races  jostle  the  whites  on  the  streets  —  all 
are  gathered  here  by  their  desire  for  a  share  of  the 
precious  metal  which  lies  under  the  ground. 

At  the  Stock  Exchange  we  learn  that  most  of  the  mines 
belong  to  the  British.  They  are  owned  by  companies 
of  rich  men  of  London  and  elsewhere  who  operate  them 
with  large  capital,  using  the  finest  of  modern  mining 
machinery.  We  meet  the  managers  of  some  of  the  mines, 
and  have  little  difficulty  in  learning  how  the  gold  lies  in 
the  earth  and  the  methods  of  taking  it  out  and  making 
it  into  gold  bricks  for  shipment  to  Europe. 

The  gold  of  the  Transvaal  lies  in  veins  or  strata  which 
run  a  long  distance  down  into  the  earth.  It  is  mostly  in 
crystals  or  flakes  so  small  that  they  can  not  be  seen  with 
the  naked  eye.  It  is  mixed  with  a  vast  amount  of  quartz 
pebbles  which  are  cemented  together  with  sand  and  other 
rocks,  so  that  the  pebbles  look  much  like  raisins  in  a  plum 
pudding.  The  gold  is  not  found  in  the  pebbles,  but  in  the 
other  part  of  the  pudding.  The  whole  is  very  hard  and 
it  has  to  be  taken  up  and  pounded  to  powder  before  the 
gold  can  be  obtained. 

The  mining  is  done  by  sinking  a  shaft,  or  great  pit, 
down  through  the  veins  and  running  off  tunnels  into 
it  so  that  the  precious  rock  can  be  broken  down  and 
brought  to  the  surface.  There,  it  is  put  into  stamping 
mills  and  crushed  to  powder. 


THE   GOLD   MINES  OF    SOUTH   AFRICA  309 

After  this  it  is  washed  with  water  through  a  wire  screen, 
the  meshes  of  which  are  very  small,  and  then  flowed  over 
copper  plates  coated  with  mercury.  Gold  has  such  an 
affinity  for  mercury  that  after  a  time  the  mercury  con- 
tains a  large  amount  of  gold.  The  mercury  is  then  run 
off  into  a  pot  and  placed  in  a  furnace  which  is  so  hot 
that  the  mercury  passes  off  in  a  vapor,  leaving  the  gold. 

This  process  takes  out  most  of  the  gold,  but  not  all. 
That  which  still  remains  in  the  dust  is  extracted  by 
means  of  the  cyanide  or  chlorination  methods.  By  the 
chlorination  process  the  ores  are  first  roasted,  and  then 
chemically  treated  to  get  out  the  gold.  By  the  cyanide 
process  they  are  mixed  in  a  solution  of  cyanide  of  potas- 
sium and  water,  for  which  the  gold  has  such  an  affinity 
that  it  leaves  the  rock  and  is  taken  up  by  the  solution  as 
water  takes  up  salt.  The  cyanide  water,  containing  the 
gold,  is  then  flowed  over  zinc  shavings,  which  the  gold 
likes  better  than  the  cyanide.  It  leaves  the  solution  and 
sticks  to  the  zinc,  which  is  then  so  treated  that  only  the 
gold  remains. 

During  our  stay  we  go  down  into  a  mine.  It  is 
several  thousand  feet  deep,  and  in  the  lower  tunnels 
so  hot  that  we  are  glad  to  get  out.  The  mine  is  lighted 
by  electricity ;  the  ore,  when  blasted  down,  is  loaded  on 
cars  and  pushed  over  a  railroad  track  to  the  shafts, 
whence  a  steam  engine  elevates  it  to  the  top.  Much  of 
the  rough  work  is  done  by  Kaffirs,  superintended  by  white 
men.  From  the  mine  we  go  to  the  smelting  works,  and 
finally  into  the  offices  of  the  superintendent,  where  in  a 
great  safe  he  shows  us  bricks  of  pure  gold  so  large  that 
we  can  not  lift  more  than  one  at  a  time. 


310  AFRICA 


47.  NATAL,  THE  GARDEN  OF  SOUTH 
AFRICA 

TO-DAY  we  leave  the  high,  dry  plateau  and  make  our 
way  by  railroad  down  to  the  Indian  Ocean  through 
Natal,  the  Garden  of  South  Africa.  This  country  was 
one  of  the  first  discovered  by  the  Portuguese.  When 
Vasco  da  Gama  in  1497  came  around  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  he  made  a  short  voyage  up  the  east  coast,  and 
on  Christmas  Day,  the  natal  day  or  birthday  of  our 
Savior,  entered  the  beautiful  bay  on  which  Durban 
(dur-ban'),  the  chief  city  of  Natal,  stands.  He  called  the 
place  Port  Natal  in  honor  of  this  discovery,  and  this  has 
been  adopted  as  the  name  of  the  province  about  it.  Port 
Natal  is  the  best  harbor  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the 
continent,  and  almost  one  thousand  vessels  call  there 
every  year.  Railroads  have  been  built  from  Durban  to 
the  high  plateau,  and  goods  for  Johannesburg  and  the 
towns  north  of  it  are  brought  there  and  sent  over  these 
roads. 

We  take  the  train  at  Johannesburg  for  Durban.  The 
cars  are  comfortable,  and  we  could  if  we  wished  make  the 
journey  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  one  day. 
The  first  part  of  our  trip  is  over  the  high,  dry,  brown 
plateau,  upon  which  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  are  every- 
where feeding. 

We  cross  the  Vaal  River,  and  a  little  later  are  in  the 
Drakensberg  Mountains.  We  go  down  to  the  coast  over 
a  succession  of  terraces  beautifully  green.  We  pass  by 
ravines    carpeted    with    maiden-hair    ferns,    riding    now 


NATAL,  THE  GARDEN   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


311 


through  wooded  hills  and  again  over  rolling  meadows 
where  fat  cattle  are  feeding.  There  are  many  fine  farms 
with  comfortable  homes.  Some  are  fenced  with  green 
hedges,  and  there  are  frequent  groves  with  trees  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 


^_^^    ^p^ 

"*'                       ^ 

HHHH|^€^^ 

^MUm^^0i 

^fe^JH^^p  ' 

'^^SIm^^^^k^t^'' 

^^^^^Or^MSS^^^r^^^j'   •'^w^^ 

^m 

I^^MhI^S^^BSSS^CiiI  p^ES^^^^IES^^ea  ^' 

-ws^ritUliik 

^^^m 

^^ 

WKS^^SR' ^&  "  it .. ■  - 

"...  great  beds  01  pir.eapvies.'' 

The  crops  change  from  time  to  time  as  we  pass  from 
the  plateau  down  to  the  sea.  On  the  highlands  there  are 
fields  of  barley,  oats,  and  maize,  and  fine  cattle  and 
sheep.  Farther  down  are  orchards  of  peaches  and  apples, 
and  lower  still  tea  and  coffee  plantations.  Along  the 
coast  the  climate  has  a  tropical  character,  and  there  are 
fields  of  rice,  sugar  cane,  and  tobacco,  together  v/ith  lemon 
and  orange  groves,  mango  trees,  and  great  beds  of  pine- 
apples. 


3 1 2  AFRICA 

Natal  can  grow  almost  any  fruit  known  to  man,  and  it 
exports  oranges  and  pineapples  to  the  other  colonies  about. 
It  is  so  rich  that  we  wish  we  could  tarry  to  enjoy  the  green 
fields  and  the  beautiful  fruits. 

We  stop  at  one  of  the  stations  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
colony  to  visit  a  tea  plantation.  Tea  leaves  are  not  unlike 
those  of  a  rose  bush,  and  the  bushes  are  much  like  our  box- 
wood. The  plants  are  grown  from  the  seed,  and  are  set 
out  during  the  wet  weather  at  the  beginning  of  September, 
the  South  African  spring,  or  at  the  end  of  March  in  the 
autumn.  They  are  planted  in  rows  about  five  feet  apart 
and  carefully  cultivated.  When  they  are  three  or  four 
years  old  the  leaves  are  first  plucked,  and  after  that  from 
time  to  time  during  the  summer. 

Our  plantation  belongs  to  an  Englishman,  and  we  have 
no  trouble  in  learning  how  tea  is  raised.  The  rough  work 
is  done  by  natives.  We  see  Kaffir  men  digging  up  the 
rich  soil  and  cultivating  the  plants,  and  Kaffir  women  and 
boys  leaning  over  the  dark  green  bushes  picking  the  tea 
into  baskets  which  they  carry  to  the  factory  on  their  heads. 
A  girl  can  pick  about  thirty  pounds  of  leaves  in  a  day. 

We  follow  some  of  the  tea  pickers  to  the  factory  and 
see  them  spread  the  green  leaves  out  upon  the  drying 
floors.  Here  they  are  left  until  they  become  withered. 
They  are  now  as  soft  as  silk,  and  can  be  rolled  into  the 
shape  of  the  tea  leaves  of  our  stores.  This  is  done  by 
machinery.  The  leaves  are  then  dried  and  packed  up  in 
lead-lined  boxes  for  shipment  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Natal  has  now  thousands  of  acres  of  tea  plantations,  the 
product  of  which  amounts  to  several  million  pounds  of  tea 
every  year. 


NATAL,  THE  GARDEN  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA      313 

Going  on  with  our  journey,  we  visit  dairy  farms,  tobacco 
fields,  sugar  estates,  and  pineapple  plantations,  finding-  the 
white  people  everywhere  prosperous.  They  own  the  best 
lands,  and  the  natives  are  working  for  them.  This  is  so 
common  throughout  South  Africa  that  it  is  said  the  whites 
form  the  brains  and  the  blacks  the  muscle  of  the  country. 

The  natives  here,  as  in  most  parts  of  South  Africa,  are 
Bantus.  They  are  Kaffirs  or  Zulus,  who  formerly  lived  in 
villages  scattered  over  the  country,  owning  cattle  and  sheep. 
There  are  still  Kaffir  farms,  and  also  reservations  —  lands 
which  the  Natal  government  has  set  aside  for  the  natives 
as  we  have  set  aside  lands  for  our  Indians.  These  Kaffirs 
live  in  low,  round,  beehive-shaped  huts,  made  of  poles 
thatched  with  straw  over  which  is  tied  a  network  of  ropes. 
Such  a  hut  is  often  surrounded  by  a  fence  or  hedge,  inside 
which  the  cattle  are  kept  at  night.  Some  Kaffir  villages 
have  such  stockades  inclosing  all  the  houses,  and  some- 
times a  field  will  be  fenced  in,  outside  the  village,  for  the 
stock. 

The  interiors  of  these  native  huts  are  of  the  rudest  de- 
scription. The  floor  is  the  ground,  and  there  is  little  or  no 
furniture  except  a  few  pots  or  kettles,  the  cooking  being 
done  over  the  coals. 

We  stop  off  a  day  on  our  way  to  the  coast,  at  Pietermar- 
itzburg  (pe-ter-mar'its-burg),  the  capital  of  Natal.  It  is 
situated  in  the  hills  about  seventy  miles  above  Durban,  and 
is  noted  for  its  delightful  surroundings.  The  climate  is  ex- 
cellent ;  there  is  plenty  of  rain,  and  the  grass  is  green  all 
the  year  round.  The  houses  are  built  of  bright  red  brick 
made  of  a  clay  near  by,  and  many  of  them  have  beautiful 
gardens.     We  call    upon   the  administrator  and   visit  the 


314 


AFRICA 


council  building,  where  the  local  laws  for  the  province  are 
made.  We  find  Enghsh  people  everywhere,  and  are  told 
that  most  of  the  whites  come  from  England  and  Scotland, 
the  Dutch  being  few. 

Again  taking  the  train,  two  hours  brings  us  to  Durban 
on  the  Indian  Ocean,  hundreds  of  miles  below  Lourengo 

Marquez  and  more 
than  eight  hundred 
miles  from  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  As 
we  come  out  of  the 
station,  we  see  all 
sorts  of  vehicles 
ready  to  take  us  to 
different  parts  of 
the  city.  There  are 
cabs  and  carriages 
with  East  Indian, 
Malay,  or  native  Af- 
rican drivers  ;  there 
are  street  cars  moved 
by  electricity,  and 
jinrikshas  with  men 
in  the  shafts.  We 
each  choose  a  jin- 
riksha  at  two  shiUings  an  hour,  and  are  soon  trotting 
through  the  streets  behind  some  of  the  queerest  steeds  of 
the  world.  The  jinriksha  men  are  Zulus,  wearing  white 
cotton  tunics  trimmed  with  red  cahco,  and  white  trousers, 
cut  off  at  the  knees.  Every  man  has  his  head  dressed 
his  own  way.     Some  have  cow  horns  fastened  to  the  skull 


^^Hi 

^^^^^^^^^^■^  -^1^^ 

H| 

If     J 

"^^HB^^^^^  i 

.  a  jinriksha  at  two  shillings  an 
hour,  ..." 


NATAL,   THE   GARDEN   OF   SOUTH   AFRICA 


315 


and  the  hair  wrapped  around  them ;  others  have  strings 
tied  to  their  wool  to  which  fluffy  balls  are  attached ;  and 
others  have  the  hair  combed  so  that  it  stands  out  like 
mops  on  their  heads.  They  are  good-humored  fellows,  and 
we  go  like  the  wind  as  they  take  us  from  one  part  of  the 
city  to  another. 

We  first  visit  the  wharves,  where  there  are  great  ships 
from  England,  Germany,  and  other  parts  of  Europe  load- 
ing coal  brought  from  the  mines 
of  northern  Natal.  The  coal  is 
carried  into  the  ships  in  baskets 
by  Zulus,  a  long  Une  of  men 
marching  up  and  down  for 
hours  at  a  time. 

We  then  go  back  to  the  city 
and  spend  some  time  riding 
through  its  wide  streets.  Zulus 
are  employed  as  policemen,  and 
good  order  is  everywhere  kept. 
Our  jinriksha  men  take  us  to 
the  schools,  the  parks,  and  the 
botanical  garden,  ending  the 
journey  at  the  public  bathhouse 
near  the  Town  Hall.  Here  we 
go  in  for  a  swim.  The  tank  is 
ninety  feet  long,  thirty  feet 
wide,  and  three  feet  deep  at 
one  end  and  eight  feet  deep  at 
the  other. 

After  our  bath  we  take  a  street-car   ride   through    the 
town,  and  then  shop  in  the  stores.     Many  of  the  smaller 


Policeman. 


CARP.    AFRICA 


3l6  AFRICA 

establishments  are  kept  by  East  Indian  merchants,  who 
wear  great  turbans  of  various  colors.  They  have  a  large 
part  of  the  trade  of  the  natives ;  they  are'  also  peddlers, 
carrying  goods  about  from  place  to  place. 

^oXXoo  — 

48.    CAPE    COLONY 

(CAPE   OF   GOOD    HOPE) 

WE  go  from  Durban  to  Cape  Town  by  sea.  Our 
steamer  is  one  of  the  great  ocean  Hners  which  ply 
between  South  Africa  and  England.  It  brought  out  pas- 
sengers and  manufactured  goods  of  all  sorts,  and  is  now 
starting  homeward  with  wool,  hides,  coffee,  and  fruit.  We 
take  on  grain  and  wool  at  East  London,  farther  south  on 
the  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the  Buffalo  River ;  and  also  stay 
several  hours  3.c  Port  Elizabeth,  on  Algoa  (al-go'a)  Bay,  to 
load  sheep  and  goats'  wool,  grain,  and  ostrich  feathers. 

The  province  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  usually  called 
Cape  Colony.  Port  Elizabeth  is  the  second  city  and  has 
such  a  large  export  trade  that  it  is  sometimes  called  the 
Liverpool  of  South  Africa.  The  land  along  the  coast  is 
sandy,  and  the  town  looks  bleak  and  bare  as  we  approach 
it  by  sea.  The  houses  rise  in  terraces  from  the  beach  to 
the  table-land  above,  where  the  best  residences  are.  We 
land  by  means  of  a  tug  and  take  a  street-car  ride,  visiting 
the  feather,  wool,  and  fruit  markets  on  market  square. 

The  distance  from  Port  Elizabeth  to  Cape  Town  is  more 
than  four  hundred  miles,  and  we  are  about  two  nights  and 
a  day  making  the  voyage.  Some  hours  before  reaching 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  we  steam  by  Cape  Agulhas 
(a-gool'yas),  the  southernmost  point  of  the  African  conti- 


CAPE  COLONY 


317 


nent.  Agulhas  means  "needles,"  and  the  name  comes 
from  the  saw-edged  reefs  and  needleUke  rocks  which  He 
here  and  are  very  dangerous  to  vessels  hugging  the  coast. 
The  worst  of  them  are  just  off  Danger  Point,  where 
a  lighthouse  now  stands.  It  was  here  that  the  steamer 
Birkenhead  went  down  many  years  ago ;  the  ship  was 
broken  on  the  rock,  and  between  the  surf  and  the  sharks 
three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  persons  perished. 


Cape  Town. 

In  going  by,  we  keep  far  out  from  Cape  Agulhas  and  also 
well  away  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  farther  on,  find- 
ing the  latter  less  windy  than  Bartholomew  Dias  did  when 
he  discovered  it  in  i486  and  named  it  the  Cape  of  Storms. 

We  sail  more  to  the  northward,  rounding  the  Cape,  and 
enter  Table  Bay,  coming  to  anchor  at  the  wharves  of  Cape 
Town.  We  are  now  in  the  chief  commercial  city  of  South 
Africa  and  in  one  of  the  great  ports  of  the  world.  Huge 
ocean  steamers  from  Europe,  North  America,  South 
America,  Asia,  and  Australia  are  lying  at  the  doQks,  and 


3l8  AFRICA 

the  scenes  of  loading  and  unloading  cargo  are  busier  than 
in  any  other  African  port  we  have  visited.  There  are 
great  docks  all  about  us,  and  enormous  breakwaters  have 
been  built  out  to  protect  the  shipping.  The  railroad  cars 
come  right  to  the  steamers,  so  that  goods  can  be  carried 
from  here  to  the  chief  ports  of  South  Africa.  The  imports 
and  exports  of  Cape  Town  amount  at  times  to  more  than 
two  hundred  million  dollars  a  year. 

We  land  and  take  carriages  for  a  drive  through  the  city. 
How  beautiful  it  is  and  how  strange  !  It  is  built  about  the 
shores  of  Table  Bay,  rising  up  the  steep  slope  of  Table 
Mountain  which  lies  behind.  That  peak  to  the  left  is 
Devil's  Peak,  more  than  three  thousand  feet  high,  and  the 
mountain  at  the  right  is  the  Lion's  Head,  which  is  about 
two  thousand  feet  above  where  we  now  stand.  Table 
Mountain  itself  is  a  thousand  feet  higher  than  Devil's 
Peak.  It  rises  behind  the  town  in  a  sheer  precipice,  cutting 
the  sky  line  with  a  jagged  front  two  miles  in  length.  As 
it  stands  there  it  looks  like  an  enormous  table.  There  are 
often  white  clouds  above  it  which  at  times  spread  out  and 
hang  down  over  the  top,  looking  for  all  the  world  like  a 
great  tablecloth. 

We  find  Cape  Town  well  built.  It  has  large  stores  of 
brick  and  stucco,  some  beautiful  residences,  and  fine  pub- 
lic buildings.  A  belt  of  gardens  incloses  the  city,  and 
there  are  botanical  gardens  in  the  center  filled  with  tropi- 
cal plants  and  fruits.  The  streets  are  well  paved,  and 
there  are  excellent  roads  leading  out  into  the  country. 
Many  of  the  houses  in  the  suburbs  are  of  one  story,  but 
nearly  all  have  gardens  and  yards  about  them,  and  they 
seem  quite  as  comfortable  as  our  homes  in  America. 


CAPE  COLONY 


319 


We  find  Cape  Town  well  built." 


Most  of  the  people  are  white ;  but  we  meet  many  natives 
as  we  go  through  the  streets,  and  also  Malays  in  turbans 
and  lithe  Hindoos  in  the  dress  of  East  India.  There  are 
English  soldiers  from  the  garrisons  near  by,  queerly  dressed 
sailors  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  strangers  from 
everywhere  who  are  passing  through  this  gate  of  the 
African  continent. 

Cape  Town  has  excellent  hotels,  and  we  spend  several 
weeks  making  excursions  by  rail  to  the  different  parts 
of  the  province.  Cape  Colony  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  British  possessions  in  Africa.  It  is  of  vast 
extent,  being  larger  than  Texas  and  Massachusetts  com- 
bined, and  it  has  such  an  excellent  climate  that  white  men 
can  live  in  it  quite  as  well  as  in  Europe. 


320  AFRICA 

A  century  ago  the  country  was  wild  and  almost  unknown. 
It  abounded  in  game  and  was  inhabited  chiefly  by  savages 
who  fought  with  one  another.  To-day  Cape  Colony  has 
great  farms  and  stock  ranches,  and  also  vineyards  and 
orchards.'  It  produces  a  vast  quantity  of  fruit  and  makes 
wine  for  export  to  Europe.  It  has  more  than  a  million 
cattle,  more  than  a  million  sheep,  about  five  million  goats, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  ostriches.  Cape 
Colony  has  good  roads  and  railroads  and  an  extensive 
telegraph  system.  The  Cape  to  Cairo  Railroad  begins  at 
Cape  Town,  and  extends  into  the  Belgian  Kongo.  It  will 
some  day  be  extended  on  northward  to  connect  the  great 
African  lakes  and  the  Egyptian  railways,  when  we  can 
come  from  Cairo  to  Cape  Town  by  steam.  The  province  has 
many  public  libraries  and  excellent  schools.  It  has  daily 
newspapers,  in  which  we  read  news  from  the  United  States. 

During  our  stay  in  Cape  Town  we  visit  the  government 
house  and  also  the  parliament  house,  a  fine  granite  struc- 
ture in  a  beautiful  garden.  The  Union  of  South  Africa  is 
under  the  control  of  a  governor  general  appointed  by  the 
king  of  Great  Britain,  but  the  laws  for  the  Union  are  made 
by  a  parHament  or  congress  which  is  elected  by  the  people 
and  the  provinces,  and  which  meets  every  year  at  Cape 
Town.  Cape  Colony  and  the  other  provinces  of  the  South 
African  Union  also  have  provincial  governments  somewhat 
like  the  governments  of  our  states. 

In  our  travels  through  the  states  of  South  Africa  we 
have  met  many  Boers.  They  are  the  descendants  of 
Dutchmen  who  came  from  Holland  many  years  ago  to  live 
in  South  Africa.  The  country,  as  we  know,  was  first  dis- 
covered by  the  Portuguese ;  but  the  Dutch,  who  are  great 


CAPE   COLONY 


321 


traders,  followed  fast  on  their  heels  and  soon  had  ships 
going  about  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  India.  Many  of 
these  ships  stopped  at  Table  Bay  and  brought  back  news 
to  Holland  that  the  land  was  fertile  and  fitted  for  stock 
and  grain  raising.  In  1652  some  Dutchmen  came  out  and 
formed  the  first  settlement  near  Table  Bay.     Others  fol- 


Parliament  house. 

lowed,  and  the  country  was  declared  a  possession  of 
Holland.  It  remained  so  until  1795,  when  the  English, 
being  at  war  with  the  Dutch,  captured  it.  Upon  the 
declaration  of  peace  the  English  restored  the  country  to 
the  Dutch  ;  but,  in  another  war  which  soon  followed,  they 
again  took  possession  of  it  and  this  time  for  good,  although 
they  paid  the  Dutch  several  million  dollars  for  it. 


322  AFRICA 

The  Dutch  farmers  did  not  hke  the  British  government, 
so  they  moved  farther  back  into  the  interior.  They  had 
huge  wagons  with  long  teams  of  oxen  with  which  they 
could  make  but  a  few  miles  a  day.  As  the  English 
came  northward,  the  Boers  pushed  on  and  on,  taking  up 
farms  here  and  there,  until  they  had  established  them- 
selves in  many  places  in  the  upper  part  of  Cape  Colony 
and  also  in  the  Orange  Free  State  and  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. 

Then  a  long  war  occurred  between  the  Boers  and  the 
British,  and  the  Boers  were  conquered.  Their  colonies  be- 
came subject  to  Great  Britain;  and  in  1910,  Natal,  the 
Transvaal,  the  Orange  Free  State,  and  Cape  Colony  formed 
the  Union  of  South  Africa,  which  has  its  seat  of  govern- 
ment at  Pretoria,  although  its  ParUament  meets  at  Cape 
Town. 


3>»i< 


49.    GERMAN    SOUTHWEST   AFRICA 

WE  have  now  completed  our  exploration  of  the 
African  continent  with  the  exception  of  two  unim- 
portant colonies  in  the  southwestern  part,  at  the  ports  of 
which  we  shall  call  on  our  way  home.  The  first  is  German 
Southwest  Africa,  which  lies  west  of  Cape  Colony  and 
Rhodesia,  extending  from  them  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean ; 
and  the  other  is  Angola  or  Portuguese  West  Africa,  which 
is  immediately  north  of  this  German  possession  reaching 
to  the  Belgian  Kongo.  The  territories  of  both  colonies  are 
large,  and  the  climate,  in  most  parts,  is  so  unhealthful  that 
neither  has  been  thoroughly  explored. 

We  go  by  steamer  from  Cape  Town  to  Angra  Pequena 


GERMAN    SOUTHWEST    AFRICA  323 

(an'gra  pa-kan'ya)  Bay,  in  the  southern  part  of  German 
Southwest  Africa,  and  thence  sail  northward  to  Walfish 
Bay,  where  the  EngUsh  own  a  landing  place,  and  on  a  few 
miles  farther  to  Swakopmund  (swa'kop-moont),  the  chief 
German  port  of  the  colony. 

Our  journey  along  the  coast  gives  us  some  idea  of  the 
country.  A  great  part  of  it  is  desert.  It  has  no  rivers 
worth  mentioning  except  those  of  its  boundaries,  the 
Orange  on  the  south  and  the  Kunene  (koo-na'ne)  and 
Zambezi  on  the  north.  The  other  streams  flow  only 
during  the  w^et  season,  and  then  but  for  a  short  time  when 
the  torrential  rains  fill  their  beds  so  that  they  overflow  the 
banks  and  cover  the  land  for  m.iles  about  like  a  sea.  A 
short  time  after  the  storm  has  passed  the  flood  disappears, 
and  the  river  beds  are  dry  again. 

Along  the  coast  the  land  is  almost  altogether  desert,  the 
chief  plants  being  dry  acacia  bushes  and  starved  heather, 
which  are  to  be  seen  here  and  there  in  the  hot  sand. 
Back  of  this  coastal  strip  there  is  a  mountain  range,  sepa- 
rating the  high  plateau  of  the  interior  from  the  sea. 

The  mountains  are  also  bleak  and  bare,  and  this  is  so 
of  the  southern  portion  of  the  colony.  It  is  only  in  the 
northern  and  western  parts  of  the  plateau  that  there  is 
enough  water  to  support  much  animal  life.  In  those 
regions  there  are  wide,  grassy  plains,  upon  which  feed 
antelopes,  zebras,  and  herds  of  cattle ;  there  are  also  thin 
groves  where  leopards,  jackals,  and  lions  live  with  an 
occasional  herd  of  buffaloes  or  elephants. 

The  northern  part  has  most  of  the  natives.  It  is  called 
Damaraland  ( da-ma' ra-land),  and  its  people  are  sometimes 
called  Damaras.    They  are  chiefly  Bantus  with  brown  skins 


324  AFRICA 

and  black  hair,  and  are  not  unlike  the  Kaffirs  in  appear- 
ance.    Many  tribes  have  large  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep. 


Damaras. 

The  southern  part  of  the  colony  is  known  as  Namaland 
(na'ma-land),  and  is  inhabited  chiefly  by  tribes  of  Namas, 
a  species  of  Hottentots.  The  Namas  are  as  ugly  as  any 
people  we  have  yet  seen.  They  are  short  in  stature, 
gaunt,  and  angular.  They  have  yellowish  brown  skins, 
high  cheekbones,  and  pointed  chins.  Their  noses  are  flat, 
their  lips  thick  and  protruding,  and  their  ears  large  and 
almost  without  lobes.  Their  language  sounds  to  us  like 
the  cackling  of  geese  ;  it  consists  of  a  succession  of  clicks. 

These  people  are  clad  in  sheepskins.  They  wear  the 
wool  outside  in  the  summer  and  turned  inward  in  the  winter. 
Some  also  have  aprons  to  which  glass  beads  are  attached, 
and  which  reach  to  the  knees.  They  smear  their  bodies 
with  rancid  grease. 

The  Namas  are  divided  into   many  small,  independent 


GERMAN    SOUTHWEST   AFRICA  325 

tribes,  each  ruled  by  its  chief.  They  Uve  in  villages  of 
beehive-shaped  huts.  Sometimes  a  village  has  ten  huts, 
and.  sometimes  more  than  a  hundred.  The  huts  are  so 
low  that  a  grown  man  can  not  stand  upright  in  them. 
Each  is  formed  by  a  framework  of  branches  tied  to- 
gether in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  bowl,  with  matting 
stretched  over  it.  There  is  a  little  door  at  one  side 
through  which  the  people  crawl  in.  Sometimes  as  many 
as  twelve  live  in  one  hut,  keeping  everything  dirty  in  the 
extreme.  The  huts  are  usually  built  close  to  one  another, 
in  a  circle,  with  their  doors  at  the  back.  The  space  within 
the  ring  of  huts  is  used  for  the  cattle  at  night. 

In  its  total  area  German  Southwest  Africa  is  about 
eight  times  as  large  as  Ohio.  Its  native  population  is 
small,  and  it  has  but  few  whites.  The  whole  southern 
part  of  the  country  is  barren  and  desert,  and  so  far  but 
little  farming  has  been  done  anywhere.  The  natives  have 
large  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  the  government  is 
planting  cotton  and  tobacco  on  its  experiment  farms.  It 
is  teaching  the  people  how  to  grow  silkworms,  and  is 
setting  out  vineyards  and  gardens.  There  are  rich  copper 
mines,  and  diamonds  have  been  found  near  the  coast. 

Within  the  past  few  years  several  railroads  have  been 
built  from  the  ports  to  the  interior  of  the  country,  includ- 
ing one  from  Walfish  Bay  to  the  capital,  Windhoek 
(vint'hdok),  which  lies  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles 
from  Swakopmund,  where  we  now  are.  There  is  also  a 
railroad  from  Angra  Pequena,  and  there  are  telegraph 
lines  everywhere.  The  German  government  is  establish- 
ing schools,  and  it  has  courts  and  post  offices.  The 
colony   is    steadily  becoming  more  valuable. 


326  AFRICA 


50.    ANGOLA,  OR  PORTUGUESE  WEST  AFRICA 

WE  have  left  Swakopmund  and  German  Southwest 
Africa,  and  are  now  traveling  along  the  coast  of 
Angola,  the  Portuguese  colony.  The  land  grows  more 
fertile  as  we  sail  northward.  The  coastal  plain  is  green, 
and  the  mountains  behind  it  are  heavily  wooded. 

Angola  stretches  along  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  the 
Kunene  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kongo,  a  distance  of 
about  one  thousand  miles,  and  it  goes  so  far  inland  that 
its  area  is  equal  to  more  than  ten  States  as  large  as  New 
York.  Most  of  the  country  is  composed  of  the  high  pla- 
teau back  of  the  mountains.  This  is  well  watered.  It  has 
vast  forests  bound  together  with  vines,  and  great  plains 
covered  with  grass  from  five  to  twelve  feet  high. 

The  forests  are  much  like  those  of  the  Kongo.  They 
have  oil  palms,  baobabs,  and  other  tropical  trees  with 
beautiful  blossoms.  There  are  many  orchids,  and  among 
the  creepers  are  some  with  a  sap  from  which  rubber  is 
made.  The  rubber  creeper  has  a  yellow  fruit  as  large 
around  as  an  orange,  with  a  pulp  which  tastes  somewhat 
like  a  lemon.  If  any  part  of  this  creeper  is  cut,  a  milky 
juice  will  ooze  out  and  harden  upon  exposure  to  the 
air.  It  is  about  the  most  important  product  of  Angola, 
furnishing  one  of  the  rubbers  of  commerce. 

The  grass  of  the  Angola  plains  is  like  that  through 
which  we  traveled  in  our  excursions  along  the  banks  of 
the  Kongo.  It  is  from  five  to  fifteen  feet  high,  and  has 
blades  as  sharp  as  a  knife.  Paths  have  to  be  cut  through 
it  in  order  to  cross  the  plains ;  and  the  grass  is  so  high 


ANGOLA,   OR   PORTUGUESE   WEST  AFRICA  327 

it  shuts  out  the  wind  and  makes  traveling  hot  work. 
When  the  grass  is  dry  the  natives  often  set  fire  to  it. 
Then  the  whole  plain  is  flame-covered,  and  sparks  by 
thousands  shoot  up  above  the  wall  of  fire.  At  the  same 
time  the  grass  stems  burst  with  a  sound  like  myriads  of 
pistol  shots.  Such  a  fire  roasts  the  rats,  mice,  snakes,  and 
other  animals  which  live  in  the  grass ;  and  it  is  always 
followed  by  a  great  flock  of  birds  which  swoop  down  upon 
the  black  plain  to  eat  the  dead  animals. 

The  forests  and  jungle  never  burn.  They  are  the 
refuge  of  antelopes,  elephants,  hippopotamuses,  buffaloes ; 
and  even  lions  and  leopards  are  to  be  found  in  them, 

Angola  is  far  more  thickly  peopled  than  German  South- 
west Africa.  It  has  numerous  tribes  of  Bantus,  much 
like  those  we  saw  on  the  Kongo.  Each  has  its  own 
chief,  and  the  different  tribes  are  often  at  war  with  one 
another.  There  are  but  few  whites  except  at  the  ports 
and  at  the  trading  stations  in  the  interior,  and  the  most 
of  the  country  is  altogether  wild  and  unexplored. 

We  first  call  at  Mossamedes  (mos-sa^ma-des),  the  chief 
port  of  southern  Angola.  It  lies  about  two  hundred 
miles  north  of  the  Kunene  River,  in  a  region  of  good 
grazing  lands.  The  natives  have  goats,  sheep,  and  cattle  ; 
and,  strange  to  say,  they  train  their  cattle  as  riding  animals. 
We  each  hire  an  ox  for  a  jaunt  into  the  country  during  the 
stay  of  the  steamer.  Our  saddles  are  well-padded  leather 
cushions  with  stirrwps  attached,  and  our  bridles  are  each  a 
pair  of  reins  fastened  to  a  round  iron  bar  thrust  through  a 
hole  in  the  animal's  nose.  The  oxen  trot  easily,  and  we  find 
we  can  guide  them  in  this  way  as  well  as  though  they  were 
trained  horses,  and  we  had  the  ordinary  bridle  and  bit. 


328 


AFRICA 


Going  northward,  we  next  stop  at  Benguela  (ben-ga'la) 
a  thriving  settlement  situated  on  a  level  plain  near  the 
sea,  with  green  hills  a  few  miles  behind  it.  The  town  has 
several  fine  squares,  some  factories,  and  good  houses  and 

stores.  Caravans  of  natives 
are  always  coming  in  or 
going  out,  bringing  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  interior,  and  taking 
back  foreign  goods,  includ- 
ing gay  calicoes,  beads,  guns, 
powder,  tobacco,  and  other 
things  in  exchange. 

At  the  factories  we  see 
great  quantities  of  rubber, 
coffee,  palm  nuts,  and  palm 
oil,  as  well  as  ivory  tusks  and 
balls  of  beeswax  which  have 
just  come  in.  Some  of  the 
tusks  are  so  large  that  the 
natives  make  a  framework  of 
wood  in  order  that  they  may 
rest  more  easily  on  their  shoul- 
ders while  carrying  them. 
The  beeswax  is  taken  from 

Native  of  Benguela.  ^^^^     ^jj^     ^^^     ^^^^     ^^^^ 

Some  of  these  people  are  excellent  bee  keepers.  They 
make  hives  of  sections  of  a  Hmb  of  the  baobab  tree,  scoop- 
ing out  the  inside  and  fastening  up  the  ends  with  boards 
and  clay,  but  leaving  Httle  holes  for  the  bees  to  come  in 
and  out.  Such  hives  are  fastened  in  the  branches  of  low 
trees,  and  thatched  with  grass  to  keep  off  the  rain.     The 


ANGOLA,   OR   TORTUGUESE   WEST   AFRICA  329 

honey  and  wax  are  taken  out  every  year,  a  little  being  left 
so  that  the  bees  will  not  go  away. 

While  we  wait  at  Benguela  we  have  a  chance  to  visit 
the  native  villages  near  by.  They  are  made  of  rude  huts 
of  wicker  and  mud  with  roofs  of  grass  thatch.  The  doors 
are  so  low  we  have  to  stoop  to  go  in ;  the  floors  are  the 
ground,  and  about  the  only  furniture  is  a  low  bed  of  sticks 
or  palm  leaves  with  a  sleeping  mat  on  it.  Sometimes 
there  is  a  pillow  of  matting,  stuffed  with  wild  cotton,  or 
perhaps  a  wooden  pillow  three  or  four  inches  high.  Many 
of  the  people  sleep  without  pillows,  resting  their  heads 
upon  one  arm.     Some  sleep  on  the  floor. 

There  are  little  gardens  about  the  huts,  and  in  them 
we  see  women  hoeing.  The  women  here,  as  in  most  parts 
of  Africa,  do  the  hard  work.  They  dig  the  ground  with 
Httle  hoes,  which  have  iron  blades  like  a  large  oyster  shell 
and  wooden  handles  about  eight  inches  long.  They  plant 
Indian  corn,  mandioca,  red  peppers,  and  other  things,  and 
harvest  them  when  ripe. 

The  native  men  are  often  mechanics,  working  in  iron 
and  wood.  They  make  canoes,  build  huts,  and  go  hunting 
and  fishing.  They  are  also  porters,  carrying  goods  over 
the  country. 

The  natives  of  Angola  dress  much  the  same  as  in  parts 
of  the  Kongo  valley.  Near  the  coast  the  men  have  waist 
cloths  which  reach  to  their  knees,  being  tied  about  the 
body  with  a  strip  of  red  cloth.  The  women  wear  but 
little  more,  and  the  children  go  naked.  Both  sexes  have 
odd  ways  of  dressing  the  hair ;  and  many  of  the  women 
wear  heavy  rings  of  iron,  brass,  or  tin  about  their  ankles  or 
wrists.     A  woman  will  sometimes  carry  fourteen  pounds 


330  AFRICA 

of  iron  upon  her  naked  feet.  The  bands  are  fixed  on  by  a 
blacksmith ;  they  are  often  so  thick  that  the  wearer  has  to 
tie  rags  about  them  to  protect  her  skin  from  injury  until  it 
is  hardened. 

We  are  frequently  asked  to  smoke  or  snuff  during 
our  stay  with  the  natives.  Almost  every  one  uses  snuff. 
He  pours  about  a  teaspoonful  of  the  powdered  tobacco 
into  the  palm  of  his  hand,  and  thrusting  his  nose  down 
into  the  mixture  draws  in  all  he  can.  We  each  try  a 
small  pinch,  and  nearly  sneeze  our  heads  off;  for  they 
have  added  red  pepper  to  the  snuff  to  make  it  stronger. 
At  first  we  think  this  a  trick,  but  learn  that  they  like  snuff 
better  that  way. 

Returning  to  the  steamer,  we  go  along  the  coast  north- 
ward to  Loanda  (Lo-an'da),  the  capital  of  the  colony  and 
one  of  the  oldest  towns  of  western  Africa.  It  was  founded 
in  1575,  and  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the  chief  seats  of 
the  slave  trade  with  Brazil  and  Cuba,  as  many  as  one  hun- 
dred thousand  slaves  having  been  exported  in  a  year. 

When  the  slave  trade  stopped,  Loanda  lost  its  impor- 
tance, but  it  has  recently  grown  by  its  exports  of  native 
products,  and  is  now  said  to  be  the  finest  city  of  western 
Africa.  Coffee  and  sugar  plantations  have  been  set  out 
in  the  country  behind,  and  coffee  has  become  a  staple 
export.  A  railroad  has  been  built  several  hundred  miles 
into  the  interior,  and  upon  it  and  the  Kuanza  (Kwan'za) 
River,  which  is  not  far  south  of  the  port,  great  quantities 
of  rubber,  wax,  palm  oil,  hides,  cotton,  ivory,  and  peanuts 
are  brought  here  for  shipment  to  Europe. 

The  Kuanza  is  the  chief  river  of  Angola,  and  it  forms 
one  of  the  highways  to  the  interior,  although  it  has  many 


ANGOLA,   OR   PORTUGUESE   WEST   AFRICA 


331 


rapids  and  is  navigable  for  short  distances  only.  We 
travel  inland,  and  stop  awhile  at  Novo  Redondo,  at  the 
head  of  navigation  of  the  Kuanza,  some  distance  back 
from  the  coast.  The  town  is  a  thriving  trading  center. 
It  has  macadamized  streets,  lined  with  acacia  trees.  On 
nearly  all  the  corners  are  the  shops  of  the  traders ;  and  we 


"We  go  along  the  coast  ...  to  Loanda,  ..." 

see  caravans  of  porters  coming  in  with  loads  of  native 
goods  on  their  shoulders. 

On  our  way  back  to  Loanda  we  make  several  excursions 
through  the  country,  riding  in  hammocks  slung  to  poles, 
which  rest  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  Our  porters  go  on 
the  trot,  and  although  they  jolt  us  at  first,  we  soon  become 
so  used  to  the  motion  that  we  frequently  drop  off  to 
sleep. 

CARP.   AFRICA  —  21 


332  AFRICA 

Four  lines  of  ocean  steamers  call  regularly  at  Loanda. 
Upon  our  return,  we  find  one  belonging  to  the  British 
Navigation  Company  at  anchor  in  the  harbor.  It  is  to 
sail  within  a  few  hours,  and  as  we  have  now  completed 
our  tour  of  the  African  continent,  we  shall  take  passage 
upon  it  for  Liverpool. 

While  waiting,  we  call  a  machilla  and  take  a  ride  through 
Loanda.  The  town  has  only  a  few  thousand  Europeans, 
but  many  more  natives.  We  visit  the  stores  in  the  lower 
part  along  the  bay,  spend  a  short  time  in  the  markets, 
buyiug  a  few  curios  to  take  home  to  our  friends,  and  then 
call  upon  the  governor  and  other  officials  in  the  residence 
part  of  the  city,  which  lies  on  the  hill  farther  back. 

The  steamboat  whistles  as  we  leave  the  governor's 
house,  and  we  go  down  to  the  wharf  and  hurry  on  board. 
Our  baggage  has  already  been  packed  away  in  the  hold, 
and  a  little  later  we  are  steaming  outward  on  our  long 
voyage  home.  We  call  at  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  the 
Canaries,  and  Madeiras  (Ma-de'ras),  and  then  sail  on  north- 
ward to  Liverpool,  from  where  a  fast  ocean  liner,  in  six 
days,  takes  us  across  the  Atlantic,  home  to   New  York. 


INDEX 


Abeokuta,  213. 

Abyssinia,   1 22-131  ;    government   of, 

127. 
Adis  xAbeba,  126. 
Africa,  general  view,  10-13. 
Agulhas,  Cape,  316. 
Akkra,  204. 
Alexandria,  93-95. 
Algeria,  33-47- 
Algiers,  40-45. 
Angola,  326-331. 
Antelopes,  160. 
Ants,  171-173. 
Ashanti,  204. 
Assiout,  114. 
Assuan,  Dam  of,  87. 
Atbara,  the,  82. 
Atlas  Mountains,  15,  21,  34. 

Bagamoyo,  254. 

Banana  Point,  226. 

Bananas,  147. 

Bantus,  229,  235,  259,  271. 

Baobab  tree,  210-212. 

Bark  cloth,  142. 

Basutoland,  283. 

Baths,  Moorish,  78-80;  Nubian,  118. 

Bazaars :    Algiers,  43  ;    Egypt,    100  ; 

Morocco,  31  ;   Tunis,  49-52. 
Bedouins,  73. 
Bees,  328. 
Beira,  268-270. 
Belgian  Possessions,  the  Kongo,  222- 

252. 
Benguela,  328. 
Berbers,  15,  37-39. 


Birds,  142,  170,  183,  206,  218,  232. 

Biskra,  Oasis  of,  59-65. 

Blanco,  Cape,  190. 

Boers,  320-322. 

B'oma,  226-228. 

Bornu,  166. 

British  Possessions  :  Ashanti,  204 ; 
Cape  Colony,  316-322;  East  Af- 
rica, 131-137  ;  Lagos,  207  ;  Natal, 
310-316  ;  Rhodesia,  278-282  ; 
Sierra  Leone,  200 ;  South  Africa, 
273-322;  Southern  Nigeria,  212- 
218  ;  Uganda,  144-149  ;  Zanzibar, 
260-264. 

Bulawayo,  280. 

Bushmen,  276-278. 

Butter  tree,  184. 

Cairo,  95-^03- 

Camels,  20,  27,  64,  65-78,  115,  187. 

Cannabalism,  199,  221,  240. 

Cape  Colony,  316-322. 

Cape  Town,  317-319. 

Caravans,  65-78,  116. 

Carthage,  Old,  53. 

Cattle,  120,  284-286. 

Chimpanzees,  219. 

Christians,  Abyssinian,  130. 

Cloves,  264. 

Constantine,  45-47. 

Copts,  102. 

Crocodiles,  171. 

Da  Gama,  Vasco,  266,  303,  310. 
Dahomey,  207. 
Damaraland,  323. 


334 


INDEX 


Dar  es  Salaam,  254-257. 

Dates,  62-64. 

Decatur,  Commodore,  35. 

Delagoa  Bay,  270. 

De  Lesseps,  Ferdinand,  110-113. 

Diamonds,  295-303. 

Diaz,  Bartholomew,  266. 

Donkeys,  96. 

Drakensberg  Mountains,  310. 

Durban,  314-316. 

Dutch  in  x\frica,  267,  274,  320-322. 

East  Indians,  263,  314,  316,  319. 

Education:  Abyssinia,  130;  Algeria, 
39  ;  Cape  Colony,  320  ;  Egypt, 
102;  Kongo,  240;  Morocco,  18, 
30  ;   Negroes,  199  ;   Tunisia,  53. 

Egypt,  81-113;  Ancient,  103-108; 
Government,  94. 

Elephants,  121,  124,  149-157,  250. 

Factories,  West  African,  207. 
Farming  :   Algeria,  45  ;   Angola,  329  ; 

Cape  Colony,  320  ;   Egypt,  87-92  ; 

Hausa,  177  ;   Morocco,  25  ;  Natal, 

311  ;   Negroes,   195;    Nubia,   117; 

South  Africa,  282-295;  Sudan,  168. 
Fellahs,  Egyptian,  88-91. 
Fernando  Po,  191. 
Fez,  25-33. 
Fezzan,  76. 
Figs,  22. 

Forests,  246-252,  326. 
Freetown,  200. 

French  Equatorial  Africa,  218-222. 
French     Possessions:      Algeria,     ^;^; 

Dahomey,  207;    Equatorial  Africa, 

218-222;     Morocco,    23'>      Sahara, 

55-78;  Tunisia,  47-55. 

Gambia,  200. 

German  East  Africa,  252-260. 

German    Possessions :     East     Africa, 

252-260;       Kamerun,       218-222; 

Southwest  Africa,  322-325  ;  Togo, 

206. 


Gibraltar,  14. 

Giraffes,  161. 

Goats,  286. 

Gold  Coast,  204. 

Gold  Mines,  South  Africa,  303-309. 

Gorillas,  219-220. 

Grain  Coast,  204. 

Guardafui  Cape,  131. 

Guinea,  Gulf  of,  192. 

Harar,  129. 

Hausas,  the,  1 74-181. 

Heliopolis,  107. 

Hippopotamuses,   125,  156,   182,  232. 

Hottentots,  276-278,  324. 

Insects,   170-174,  218,  233,  286,  287. 
Irrigation,    Egyptian,    91  ;     Morocco, 

24;   Nile,  115;   Sudan,  188. 
Ivory,  152-157,  261. 
Ivory  Coast,  204. 

Jenne,  185,  188-190. 
Jews,  17,  50. 
Jibuti,  129. 
Jiggers,  171. 
Johannesburg,  305-309. 

Kabyles,  15,  34,  38,  39. 

Kaffirs,  276,  282,  313. 

Kagera  River,  141. 

Kalahari  Desert,  274,  282. 

Kamerun,  218-222. 

Kano,  166,  168,  174,  1 77-181, 

Karnak,  107. 

Karroo  Plateau,  274,  288. 

Kavirondo,  140. 

Kayes,  190. 

Kenia,  Mt.,  134,  137,  138. 

Khartum,  114. 

Kilimanjaro,  Mt.,  135,  137,  138,  257- 

260. 
Kimberley,  295-303. 
Kongo,  Belgian,  228-252. 
Kongo  River,  222-252. 
Kroos,  203. 


INDEX 


335 


Kuanza  River,  330. 
Kuka,  166,  168. 
Kumassi,  205. 
Kunene  River,  323. 

Lagos,  207. 

Lakes,  Great  African,  252. 

Languages,  African,  165. 

Leopoldville,  231. 

Liberia,  202-204  ;  government  of,  203. 

Limpopo  River,  274,  304. 

Lions,  125,  159,  270. 

Loanda,  330,  331. 

Locusts,  287. 

Louren^o  Marquez,  270-272. 

Markets :  Ashanti,  205  ;    Kano,   1 78- 

181  ;    Kongo,     243-246 ;     Tangier, 

19 ;   Yoruban,  216. 
Matabeles,  276. 
Matadi,  224. 
Mirage,  113. 
Mohammedans,  29,  42,  45,  73,  74,  94, 

168,  176,  187,  263. 
Mombasa,  132-134,  267. 
Money,  African,  128,  168,  169. 
Monrovia,  203. 
Morocco,  14-33  '■>   government  of,  32  ; 

Sultan  of,  32  ;   towns  of,  27. 
Mosques,  29,  loi,  263. 
Mossamedes,  327. 
Mozambique,  267,  268. 
Mummies,  108. 

Nairobi,  134. 

Namaland,  324,  325. 

Napoleon  Gulf,  141. 

Natal,  283,  310-316. 

Negroes,  191-199. 

Nigeria,  212-218. 

Niger  River,  163,  181-190,  218. 

Nile    River,     81-108,    114-116,    123, 

141. 
Nilometer,  85. 
Nubia,  114-121. 
Nyassa  Lake,  252. 


Oases :  Biskra,  59-65  ;  Ghadames,  75  ; 

Murzuk,  76. 
Ogun  River,  212. 
Olives,  22. 
Oran,  36. 

Orange  River,  274,  323. 
Ostriches,  121,  288-295. 
Oxen,  riding,  327. 

Palm  oil,  208-210. 

Pepper  Coast,  204. 

Pietermaritzburg,  313. 

Port  Elizabeth,  316. 

Port  Florence,  137. 

Port  Said,  109,  112. 

Portuguese  Possessions:  Angola,  326- 
331  ;  East  Africa,  264-271;  Fer- 
nando Po,  191. 

Pygmies,  246-252. 

Pyramids,  the,  103-106. 

Races,  African,  12,  13,  1 64-166;  Ban- 
tus,  229,  259,  271  ;  Bushmen,  276- 
278  ;  Hottentots,  276-278  ;  Kaf- 
firs, 276,  282 ;  Matabeles,  276 ; 
Negroes,  1 91-199  ;  Pygmies,  246- 
252  ;   Zulus,  276. 

Railroads :  Algeria,  37,  45,  59  ;  An- 
gola, 330 ;  Cape  to  Cairo,  148, 
280 ;  Dahomey,  207 ;  Egyptian, 
116;  German  East  Africa,  257; 
German  Southwest  Africa,  325  ; 
Kongo,  230;  Nigeria,  212;  South 
Africa,  275,  278,  305,  310;  Sudan, 
190  ;     Tunis,    47  ;     Uganda,    134- 

137- 
Rhinoceroses,  135,  158. 
Rhodesia,  278-282. 
Rio  de  Oro,  190. 
Ripon  Falls,  141. 
Rubber,  242,  326. 
Ruwenzori  Mountains,  138. 

Sahara,  the,  55-78. 
Salisbury,  279. 
Salt,  69,  128,  188. 


336 


INDEX 


Senegal,  200;   River,  163. 

Sheep,  183,  245,  284-286. 

Shire  River,  253,  271. 

Sierra  Leone,  200-202. 

Siut,  114. 

Slave  Coast,  204. 

Slaves,    76,    169,    191,    192,   199,   221, 

240,  333- 
Sofala,  266. 
Songhay,  187. 
Spanish  Possessions,  190. 
Sphinx,  the,  106. 
Stanley  Pool,  231. 
Sudan  :  Egyptian,  11 6-1 21  ;   the,  162- 

190. 
Suez,  113. 

Suez  Canal,  109-114. 
Superstitions,  240. 
Swakopmund,  323. 

Table  Bay,  317. 

Tanganyika,  Lake,  252,  257. 

Tangier,  16-20. 

Tchad  Lake,  163,  168. 

Tea,  Natal,  312. 

Tell,  the,  34,  37. 

Timbuktu,  166,  184-188. 

Tobacco,  330. 

Togo,  206. 

Trade:  Algiers,  41  ;  Angola,  328; 
Cape  Town,  317;  Egypt,  95; 
Kamerun,  222  ;  Kongo,  222,  241- 
246 ;  Morocco,  27  ;  Sahara,  61, 
69,  70,  81  ;  South  Africa,  315  ; 
Sudan,  166,   170. 


Tripoli,  74-81  ;   city  of,  78  ;    govern- 
ment of,  80. 
Tsetse  fly,  287. 
Tueregs,  70-73. 
Tunis,  47-55- 

Uganda,    132,    144-149  ;   government 

of,  144. 
Ujiji,  254. 
Usoga,  140. 

Vaal  River,  304. 

Victoria  Falls,  280-282. 

Victoria  Lake,  137-144. 

Villages:  Abyssinia,  126;  Ashanti, 
205  ;  Egypt,  89,  90  ;  German  East 
Africa,  253;  Hausa,  176;  Kaffir, 
313;  Kongo,  235-239;  Lake  Vic- 
toria, 143 ;  Morocco,  24 ;  Nama, 
325;  Negro,  195;  Nubia,  119; 
Pygmy,  249  ;  Sierra  Leone,  201  ; 
Uganda,  145  ;    Yoruban,  213. 

Wild  Animals,  77,  125,  135,  144,  156- 

162,  170,  233,  248,  253,  270,  327. 
Wildebeest,  160. 
Witchcraft,  196-198. 

Yorubans,  212-218. 

Zambezi,  280. 

Zanzibar,  260—264  ;   Sultan,  261. 

Zebras,  125,  135,  162. 

Zulus,  276,  313-315- 


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